APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING PROGRAMS

Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a

skill. Apprentices (or in early modern usage "prentices") or protégés build
their careers from apprenticeships. Most of their training is done on the job
while working for an employer who helps the apprentices learn their trade, in
exchange for their continuing labour for an agreed period after they become
skilled. Theoretical education may also be involved, informally via the
workplace and/or by attending vocational schools while still being paid by the
employer.

Development
The system of apprenticeship first developed in the later Middle Ages and
came to be supervised by craft guilds and town governments. A master
craftsman was entitled to employ young people as an inexpensive form of
labor in exchange for providing food, lodging and formal training in the craft.
Most apprentices were males, but female apprentices were found in crafts
such as seamstress, tailor, cordwainer, baker and stationer. Apprentices
usually began at ten to fifteen years of age, and would live in the master
craftsman's household. Most apprentices aspired to becoming master
craftsmen themselves on completion of their contract (usually a term of seven
years), but some would spend time as a journeyman and a significant
proportion would never acquire their own workshop.

Subsequently governmental regulation and the licensing of polytechnics and

vocational education formalized and bureaucratized the details of
apprenticeship.

REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP

Registered apprenticeship is a voluntary training program that has proven to

be highly effective for centuries.  Throughout recorded history, people have
been transferring skills from one generation to another in some form of
apprenticeship.  Today the need for skilled tradesmen or craftsmen in an
organization is more critical than ever.  Apprenticeship is a training system
that produces highly skilled workers who are able to meet the demands of
employers who are competing in a highly competitive environment. Each and
every day the Indian economy continues to come under increasing
competitive global pressure.  In that regard, organization not only finds itself
economically competing with other organizations but with the entire
manufacturing world.  The most important asset any organization must
posses in today’s competitive market is a highly trained and skilled
workforce.  One significant way to create and maintain a skilled workforce is
through a highly effective on-the-job apprenticeship training program.
 
The unique feature of the apprenticeship concept is that on-the-job training is
supplemented with technical classroom instruction.  Apprentices work under
the supervision of qualified journey workers to develop their chosen trade or
skill and learn the techniques, materials, and equipment associated with that
trade.  Classroom instruction that provides training in theoretical and
technical aspects of the trade is required.  Minimum class time is 144 hours
for each year of apprenticeship, but may be higher for some trades. 
Apprentices are generally evaluated every six months and receive pay raises
based upon their proven progress in skill development as well as their
classroom proficiency. 

 
INDUSTRIES PARTICIPATING IN REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP
 
· Construction
· Manufacturing
· Telecommunications
· Information Technology/Networking
· Service and Retail Industries
· Health Care
· Public Utilities
· Public Sector
 
BENEFITS OF REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS

For employers, benefits include:

· Skilled workers trained to industry/employer specifications to
  produce quality results
· Reduced turnover
· Increased productivity
· Industry's need to remain competitive by investing in the
  development and continuous upgrade of the skills of its workforce
· Reduced worker compensation costs due to an emphasis on safety
  training
· Compliance with federal and state equal opportunity requirements
  facilitated
For apprentices benefits include:
· Jobs that usually pay higher wages
· Higher quality of life and skills versatility
· Portable credentials recognized nationally and often globally
· Opportunity for college credit and future degrees