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Abstract
This report analyzes a survey of a nationally representative sample of sponsors of registered apprenticeship programs. Commissioned by the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, the survey includes questions about how sponsors (mainly employers) view their registered apprenticeship programs. The study analyzes these survey responses on the value, benefits, and drawbacks of registered apprenticeship, its integration with the workforce investment systems, apprentice completion and reasons for non-completion, and suggestions for possible improvement. In general, sponsors report highly positive attitudes about registered apprenticeship as a system for training their workforce.
Introduction
Apprenticeship is a method of training that emphasizes learning by doing. Apprentices
are taught by experienced workers and supervisors at the job site and practice their skills in real
work assignments. In the United States, the registered apprenticeship system, established under
the 1937 National Apprenticeship Act (also called the Fitzgerald Act), provides a framework for
this form of training. In fiscal year 2007 there were nearly 28,000 programs providing training
to over 465,000 active apprentices, according to data from the Office of Apprenticeship (OA) in
the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the U.S. Department of Labor. OA
oversees the registered apprenticeship system, issuing regulations, providing guidance and
technical assistance to sponsors and state agencies, maintaining a database, monitoring trends,
and promoting registered apprenticeship.
Registered apprenticeship program sponsors are individual employers or groups of
employers (sometimes in collaboration with unions) who play a critical role. Sponsors recruit
and hire apprentices; determine the content of the training, the partner for classroom instruction,
and the number of apprentices to train; and develop formal agreements identifying the skills to
be learned, wages to be paid, and the required classroom instruction. Sponsors also work with
state apprenticeship agencies (SAAs) to make sure that their programs meet state requirements
and standards as well as to register programs and apprentices.
To better understand the perspective of sponsors, who are mainly employers, ETA
commissioned a survey to learn about what sponsors value, dislike, or would like to see changed
about registered apprenticeship. The survey was administered to a representative sample of
sponsors, drawn from a sampling frame that covered 90 percent of all sponsors in the United
States. A stratified random sample was used to oversample sponsors in high-growth industries
and final results were appropriately weighted to assure results were nationally representative.
The survey was fielded in the spring of 2007. This report presents and interprets the
results of the survey, addressing the following questions:
- Who trains apprentices — what are the characteristics of the sponsors of registered
apprenticeship programs?
- What are the key characteristics of registered apprenticeship programs in terms of
size, type, and history?
- What do sponsors value about registered apprenticeship?
- What are the drawbacks or problems sponsors find in registered apprenticeship?
- How do sponsors recruit apprentices?
- How well integrated is registered apprenticeship with the workforce investment
system?
- What institutions provide related instruction?
- What is the completion rate for apprentices and why do some apprentices fail to
complete their programs?
- What changes in the registered apprenticeship system would sponsors recommend?
- What data do sponsors capture on their registered apprenticeship programs?
- What are the implications of these results for policy and further research?
The report addresses each of these questions and explores how they are connected to each
other. The report also discusses the survey methodology and provides a contextual overview of
apprenticeship.
(End of excerpt. The entire
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