National Occupational Frameworks (NOFs) are documents describing an occupation and the benchmarks for on-the-job training and related instruction that apprentices should complete in a registered apprenticeship program. By doing extensive research, vetting these frameworks with subject matter experts in the occupation, and getting them approved by the US Department of Labor (DOL), we can reduce the time it takes to build a quality registered apprenticeship program.

The goal is for businesses, educational institutions, workforce organizations, and other apprenticeship stakeholders to use these free frameworks to accelerate the design of their apprenticeship programs and ultimately scale up the registered apprenticeship system in the US.

This guide provides business, education, workforce, and other professionals with a better understanding of the NOFs, how they are created, and how to use them to develop and register high-quality apprenticeship programs.