Apprenticeship Programs

In Minnesota, there are two types of recognized apprenticeship programs:

Registered apprenticeship is for all Minnesota citizens age 16 or older to receive training in a skilled occupation, craft, or trade.
Youth apprenticeship is for high school juniors and seniors to receive work-based learning experiences.

Registered apprenticeship

Registered apprenticeship is a formal method of training in a skilled occupation, craft, or trade. Apprenticeship training is designed to produce skilled workers who are fully competent in all aspects of a job including knowledge, skill, and proficiency. During the apprenticeship period, the apprentice is employed full time to learn an occupation through a structured program of on-the-job training with related classroom technical instruction.

With apprenticeship training, you sign a written agreement with your apprenticeship sponsor that is approved by and registered with the apprenticeship unit of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. The agreement specifies:

The length of time you will be in training.
The hours of related educational training.
A listing of the skills you will learn.
The wage steps you will receive during training.

Apprenticeship programs offer many advantages to apprentices. An apprenticeship often serves as entry to a long-lasting and rewarding career, provides you with marketable skills and knowledge, and allows you to earn a good wage while learning the skills of the occupation.

Program information

Program length

Programs vary in length from one to six years; four years is the average. In no case is a program less than one calendar year in length.

Program content

Training takes from 2,000 to 10,000 hours of working on the job. Most approved programs in Minnesota average 8,000 hours (4 years). Also, for each 2,000 hours of training on the job, 144 hours of classroom instruction are required.

Requirements

Applicants must usually be at least 16 years or older and have a high school diploma or actively pursuing a GED. It is helpful to have taken some vocational courses. Some programs also require specific course work, the physical ability to work in the trade, and a passing score on an entrance test.

Pay

Apprenticeship pay usually begins at nearly one-half the pay rate for journey-level workers. After six months, the pay rate begins to move up periodically until the apprentice reaches the journey level. Wages are never less than the federal minimum wage.

Application process

Apprenticeship programs are developed with the cooperation of area joint apprenticeship councils or individual employers or companies.

Applicants are expected to complete an application form and submit it with a birth certificate, school transcripts, and letters of recommendation. In the selection process, the top candidates will be interviewed and those selected will be placed on a waiting list (which is active for two years).

Apprenticeship committees give points for experience in the trade, knowledge of the trade, and grades in trade-related courses. Applicants with the highest number of points are selected for the program.

There are many more applicants than apprenticeship openings in some trades and locations. Those selected often have more trade-related experience, more education, and higher grades than the minimum requirements described for the apprenticeship.

To be hired as an apprentice at a company that does not have an apprenticeship committee, you need to complete the necessary application process for employment at a site having a state-registered apprenticeship program.

Each of these registered sponsors may have unique hiring requirements. Contact the employer of your choice and ask for information about their current hiring process.

Recognition

When apprentices finish their registered apprenticeship training, they receive a certificate of completion issued by the Department of Labor and Industry, Apprenticeship Unit. The Apprentice Certificate of Completion provides the apprentice with proof that he or she has completed a comprehensive on-the-job apprenticeship training program that is registered with the State of Minnesota. The completion certificate is recognized throughout the United States and Canada.

Credit for Past Experience

If an apprentice has previous experience, sponsors of apprenticeship programs may grant advanced placement in the apprenticeship program for that work experience. If advanced placement is granted, the apprentice is paid wages commensurate with the advanced experience level.

Program contact information

For more information about apprenticeship programs or to verify if a program is registered with the state, you may contact the Department of Labor and Industry, Apprenticeship Unit. You can also contact the Department at:

Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry

Apprenticeship Unit
443 Lafayette Road N.
St. Paul, MN 55155

Phone: (651) 284-5090 or 1-800-DIAL-DLI (1-800-342-5354)
Fax: (651) 215-6368
Email: DLI.Communications@state.mn.us

To find an apprenticeship program:

Check out the apprenticeship listings in MinnesotaWorks.
Look in the yellow pages for companies that you may be interested in working for as an apprentice and call or write for a job application.
Visit Construction Careers for apprenticeship programs in construction
Ask for information about apprenticeship programs or about companies from Trade and Labor organizations:
Trade Associations:
- Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC)
- Associated General Contractors (AGC)
- National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA)
- Minnesota Asphalt Pavement Association (MAPA): info@mnapa.org or (651) 636-4666
- Minnesota Electrical Association
- Municipal Utilities Association
- Minnesota Rural Electric Association
Labor Organizations:
- Look in the yellow pages under "L" for Labor.
- St. Paul Building and Construction Trades Council
- Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades Council

Apprenticeable occupations

The United States Department of Labor and the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry recognize more than 800 apprenticeable occupations. In Minnesota, more than 80% of apprenticeship programs and opportunities are available in the construction industry. The remaining occupational programs are found in plant maintenance, graphic arts, manufacturing, the power trades, and the service and professional technical industries. Apprenticeship training is the preferred method of training skilled workers for all of these major occupational areas.

Selection committee concerns

In most apprenticeable trades, a local committee interviews and selects apprentices. Committee members represent both management and labor. Below are some general concerns of selection committee members, along with suggestions on how to deal with their concerns. Employers often have the same concerns and may ask the same questions. A desire to succeed at a given occupation is typically what employers look for in apprentice applicants.

Specific questions vary with the trade and the committee. To meet federal Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action requirements, committee members will ask each applicant the same questions.

Committee members are especially interested in:

Your desire and persistence:

Explain why you want to enter the trade
Tell how you became interested in the trade
Let the committee know if you have ever applied to this or any other trade before

Your knowledge of the trade:

Describe how you have observed the work and the work setting
Describe some of the jobs the workers perform
Talk about the tools and equipment used in the trade
Know how long the apprenticeship program is
Know what the wages are for apprentices and journey-level workers
Describe how you have observed or studied other trades and explain your reasons for choosing this particular trade over others

Your work experience:

Describe any work experience that may be related to the trade or that may have provided exposure to the trade
Relate any experience where you have had a favorable work record such as good references, attendance, or long-term employment

Your personal experience:

Describe hobbies or activities that show abilities or skills related to the trade. For example, doing minor repairs around the house, using hand tools, fixing or maintaining your car, or planning the family budget.
If a friend or family member works in the trade, discuss what you have learned from them about the work in the trade.

Sample interview questions

Following are sample questions that may be asked by selection committee members during the interview. You should answer as completely as possible and tell the committee all of your trade-related interests, activities, awards, and experiences. For example,

Why do you want to be a . . . ?
Why did you choose this over some other trade?
Construction sites are cold in winter, hot in summer; they can be muddy and wet. What makes you consider working in these conditions?
What kinds of work have you done in the past?
Do you have any paid or unpaid work experience or hobbies that relate to this trade?
Can you travel if the job requires it?
Do you have transportation available?
I see you attended college. Why aren't you working in the field for which you trained? (If the applicant attended college.)
How do you feel about going to school as part of your apprenticeship?
Is there anything else that you would like to tell us about yourself? (This general question provides you with the opportunity to mention any skills, interests, goals, or activities not covered in previous questions and that you think are important.)

Typical course work

Classroom instruction is designed to provide apprentices with knowledge in technical subjects related to their trade. For example, construction apprenticeships may include course work in blueprint reading, carpentry, iron work, and concrete work. At least 144 hours of related classroom instruction are required during each year of apprenticeship training. Classes are taught by journeyworker instructors and are usually held at night through public educational facilities such as community colleges or vocational-technical schools.

The apprentice must show satisfactory progress on the job and in related classroom instruction. To master a particular trade, an apprentice must learn and perfect each skill and bring those skills up to the speed and accuracy required of the job. A good attendance record is also important.

Things to know

There is often a long wait between selection as an apprentice and assignment to a job. In some trades, apprentices are responsible for finding their own jobs.

A construction trade study showed that apprentices get broader training than people who learn the trade informally. Journey-workers who were trained through formal apprenticeship programs may not receive higher wages than those trained informally on the job, but they work in the trade longer, and more of them become supervisors.

College credit

Some two-year colleges offer "credit for experience" for appropriate work experience in an apprenticeable occupation. For information about credit toward an associate degree contact your local state technical college, community college, or university.

Youth apprenticeship

Youth apprenticeship is a learning program for young people, ages 16 and older, that combines on-the-job learning with classroom instruction, that bridges high school and postsecondary schooling, and results in a high school diploma, a postsecondary award and certification of mastery of work skills. Apprenticeship programs are designed to provide 11th and 12th graders with the skills necessary for lifelong learning and career advancement.

Students who successfully complete their apprenticeship program receive credentials from the participating schools and employers. Some post-secondary institutions also give students credit for their apprenticeship learning.

This work-based learning program is developed by a multi-sector partnership including employers, labor, workers, K-12 and postsecondary educators, learners, parents, community organization representatives, and representatives from related government agencies where appropriate.

Youth apprentices must be paid. Youth apprenticeship programs are approved by the Adult and Career Education Division of the Department of Education (MDE) to ensure that they meet appropriate state standards.

State approved youth apprenticeship programs provide students with 800 or 2000 hours of planned work-based learning. Apprenticeship programs include the following provisions:

A written agreement between the school, employer, student and parent
Integration of academic instruction with work based learning
Career specific job training
Exploration of career roles
Paid work experience
Credentials

To find youth apprenticeship opportunities in your area of the state, check with your local school. This site is specifically designed for students to work with their teachers to find career experience opportunities.

For more information about youth apprenticeship, go to the Adult and Career Education Division website at the Department of Education.

Sources:
Minnesota Career Information System, Department of Education
Department of Labor and Industry, Division of Apprenticeship
Page last updated in September 2004.