Quick answer: To start an apprenticeship program, confirm the role suits paid, on-the-job training, decide whether to register it, choose to sponsor your own program or join an existing one, contact your state apprenticeship office, build the core components and wage schedule, then register, recruit and launch. The eight steps below cover each decision.
An apprenticeship program builds a talent pipeline to your own standard: you hire people, pay them while experienced staff train them, and raise pay as skills grow. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by state, so confirm details with your registration agency.
How to start an apprenticeship program in 8 steps
- Decide whether apprenticeship fits the role.
- Choose a registered or unregistered program.
- Sponsor your own program, join one, or use an intermediary.
- Contact your State Apprenticeship Agency or the Office of Apprenticeship.
- Build the core components.
- Set wages and progression.
- Plan recruitment, including pre-apprenticeship.
- Register and launch.
Step 1: Decide whether apprenticeship fits the role
Apprenticeship suits skilled roles learned through supervised practice over months or years. Federal rules describe an apprenticeable occupation as one recognized across an industry, learned through structured on-the-job learning, and supported by related instruction. It fits best when you will hire into the role repeatedly, have people who can mentor, and can pay apprentices from day one with raises as they progress.
If you need someone fully productive within weeks, direct hire recruiting is usually the better route. If current staff need new skills for their existing jobs, AI upskilling for employees may be enough. Otherwise, check the Occupation Finder on apprenticeship.gov for Department of Labor training plans you can use, tailor or replace.
Step 2: Choose a registered or unregistered program
You can train people on the job without registering anything. For employers, a Registered Apprenticeship is a program approved and validated by the US Department of Labor or a State Apprenticeship Agency. Registered programs get no-cost technical assistance and federal resources, and apprentices earn a portable, nationally recognized credential. Some funding and state incentives are tied to registration too.
Registration brings obligations. Sponsors keep written program standards, sign an apprenticeship agreement with each apprentice, maintain records, follow equal opportunity requirements and report to the registration agency. New programs start on provisional approval before approval can become permanent.
Step 3: Sponsor your own program, join one, or use an intermediary
Every Registered Apprenticeship has a sponsor: the organization that operates the program, takes full responsibility for it, and holds the registration in its name. Sponsors include single businesses, groups of businesses, industry associations, labor-management organizations, community colleges and community-based organizations.
| Path | Who holds the registration | Effort for you | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsor your own program | Your organization | Highest: you write the standards, sign agreements and keep records | Steady hiring in one occupation, with mentors in house |
| Join an existing program | The existing sponsor, such as an association, college or labor-management program | Lower: you employ and mentor apprentices, the sponsor administers | A few apprentices in an occupation a local program already covers |
| Work through an intermediary | The intermediary if it sponsors the program, otherwise your organization | Moderate: help with design, partners and paperwork | Employers new to apprenticeship or hiring across several sites |
How to become an apprenticeship sponsor
Follow the steps in this guide, writing your program standards with the registration agency. Intermediaries such as industry associations, colleges, nonprofits and workforce development boards can help even when you hold the registration. Hiring in several states? Ask about national program standards, which are submitted to the Office of Apprenticeship.
Step 4: Contact your State Apprenticeship Agency or the Office of Apprenticeship
In states with a recognized State Apprenticeship Agency, that agency generally registers and oversees programs and may use its own paperwork. Elsewhere, the Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship does it through state field offices. The apprenticeship system map shows which one covers your state.
Both offer technical assistance, guide program development, connect businesses to training providers and advise on funding. Use the Express Interest form on apprenticeship.gov to reach an apprenticeship consultant, or the apprenticeship Partner Finder to find offices, sponsors, educators, intermediaries, workforce boards and American Job Centers by location. Bring the role, locations, expected hiring volume and likely mentors to the first conversation.
Step 5: Build the core components
The Department of Labor lists five core components of a Registered Apprenticeship: industry-led standards, a paid job, structured on-the-job learning with mentorship, supplemental education, and a portable, nationally recognized credential. The detailed requirements are in 29 CFR Part 29, though state agencies may use their own forms.
The training plan
Outline the work processes an apprentice learns on the job and roughly how much time each takes. Then choose how progress is measured: time-based, with at least 2,000 hours of on-the-job learning; competency-based, where apprentices demonstrate skills; or a hybrid of both. Starting from an existing Department of Labor training plan can save time.
Related technical instruction
The regulations recommend at least 144 hours of related instruction for each year of apprenticeship. It can come from your own trainers or from a community college, vocational school or online provider, in person or virtually. Instructors must meet state requirements or be recognized subject matter experts, with training in teaching adults.
Mentors and supervision
Standards set a ratio of apprentices to journeyworkers (experienced workers) that supports proper supervision, training and safety. They also call for periodic reviews of each apprentice’s progress. Pick mentors who want the role and give them time for it.
Step 6: Set wages and progression
Registered programs need a progressively increasing wage schedule tied to the skills apprentices gain. The entry wage cannot fall below the Fair Labor Standards Act minimum wage where it applies, or any higher wage required by other law or a collective bargaining agreement. Decide these up front:
- Pay steps: link raises to visible milestones, such as completed hours or demonstrated competencies.
- Instruction time: the apprenticeship agreement must state whether it is paid.
- Prior experience: standards address advanced standing, applied equally to all applicants, with matching pay.
- Probation: a reasonable probationary period during which either side can cancel the agreement.
Step 7: Plan recruitment, including pre-apprenticeship
Registered programs set minimum entry qualifications and a selection method, so decide early where candidates will come from: schools and colleges, community organizations, workforce boards or American Job Centers.
Pre-apprenticeship can widen the pool. The Department of Labor describes it as a program that prepares people to enter and succeed in a Registered Apprenticeship. Quality programs use curriculum based on industry standards, offer hands-on training and supportive services such as help with childcare and transportation, and hold agreements with sponsors so participants can enter an apprenticeship directly.
Step 8: Register and launch
You are ready to register once you have an occupation, a training plan and a related instruction provider. The Department of Labor’s Standards Builder tool generates the registration package, and state agencies may have their own process.
As part of the Administration’s goal of 1 million active apprentices, the Office of Apprenticeship has committed to registration decisions within 30 days of a sponsor’s final submission of signed standards, tracked on its monthly registration shot clock. Where a state agency registers programs, ask it what to expect. Once registered, post openings, including on apprenticeship.gov, and sign an agreement with each apprentice.
Where public funding may exist
Public funding can offset part of the cost, but nothing is automatic or guaranteed. The agencies and organizations that run each program decide eligibility and funding, and availability changes by year and location.
- WIOA through local workforce boards. According to apprenticeship.gov’s WIOA guidance, local workforce development boards can support on-the-job training through contracts, with reimbursement typically at 50% of the apprentice’s wage rate, and related instruction when the program is on the state’s eligible training provider list. Funds serve eligible adults, dislocated workers and youth.
- Federal apprenticeship grants. The Department of Labor funds expansion through grants and cooperative agreements, recently awarded to state agencies, industry groups and other organizations. Some pay sponsors incentives as apprentices reach hiring, retention or progression milestones. Apprenticeship.gov lists open opportunities and active awards.
- State incentives. Some states have offered tax credits or tuition support for registered apprentices. These change and expire, so confirm with your state first.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to start an apprenticeship program?
Preparation depends on how ready you are and whether you join an existing program. After final submission, the Office of Apprenticeship has committed to a registration decision within 30 days. If a State Apprenticeship Agency covers your state, ask it what timeline to expect.
Can a small business start an apprenticeship program?
Yes. A sponsor can be a single business, and the Department of Labor promotes Registered Apprenticeship to employers of all sizes. Joining an existing program or using an intermediary reduces the administration you carry.
Do I have to register an apprenticeship program?
Not to train people on the job. Registration is what makes it a Registered Apprenticeship, with the national credential, technical assistance and resources, plus the standards and reporting that come with them.
Who decides whether my program qualifies for public funding?
The agency or organization running each program. Local workforce boards decide WIOA eligibility, federal grant programs set their own rules, and states run their own incentives. Treat any estimate as provisional until that agency confirms it.
Build the program around your roles
Starting a program means coordinating a sponsor, an instruction provider, your apprenticeship office and often a workforce board, and it takes months to set up. If the pressure right now is work piling up, Velorus managed teams take on support, finance, admin and back office work under a named Velorus manager, with a weekly report on what got done. For roles that need experienced people on your own payroll, our talent solutions team handles direct hire recruiting. Read more about Velorus, or book a call to talk through the work.
