Apprenticeship Glossary

I. RELATED ORGANIZATIONS & PROGRAMS

• Apprenticeship Building America Grant (ABA): The national grant program administered by the US Department of Labor that provides grants to strengthen and modernize Registered Apprenticeship programs (RAPs) and pre-apprenticeship programs.

• BuildWithin: Apprenticeship intermediary and software platform employers use to run workplace learning programs.

• Apprenticeship.Works: The local (Hamilton County-Chattanooga) initiative that leads the work of expanding apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships as part of the ABA grant.

  • This organization is guided by a steering committee of community members, businesses, and non-profits with support from Chattanooga 2.0, BuildWithin, Hamilton County, the City of Chattanooga, Hamilton County Schools, and the Benwood Foundation.

II. PEOPLE & STAKEHOLDERS

• An apprentice is an individual who is employed to learn an occupation or profession and is registered with a sponsor in an approved apprenticeship program.

• Sponsor is any person, association, committee, or organization operating an apprenticeship program and in whose name the program is registered and approved. A program sponsor may be an employer or an intermediary organization (see next item).

• Intermediaries (or intermediary organizations) are third-party organizations like colleges, workforce development agencies, unions, professional associations, etc., that the US Department of Labor approves to sponsor programs for employers they work with. For example, BuildWithin is an approved intermediary.

• Employer is any person, company, or organization employing an apprentice, whether or not such person or organization is a registered sponsor and party to an apprentice agreement with the apprentice.

• Journey-level mentor (or journeyperson) is a worker who has attained a level of skill, abilities, and competencies recognized within an industry as having mastered the skills, abilities, and competencies required for the occupation. Practical experience must be equal to or greater than the term of apprenticeship. Often a supervisor/manager, lead staff for a unit, etc.

III. APPRENTICESHIP TERMINOLOGY

• Apprenticeship is an arrangement in which an apprentice is fully employed from day one and learns relevant, in-demand skills on the job.

• Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) is an industry-driven, high-quality career pathway where employers can develop and prepare their future workforce, and individuals can obtain paid work experience, receive progressive wage increases, related technical instruction, and a portable, nationally-recognized credential.

• Pre-Apprenticeship Program is a program or set of training activities designed to prepare individuals for entering and succeeding in a registered apprenticeship program. These programs are often targeted toward individuals who may need to develop additional skills or knowledge before entering a formal apprenticeship

• On-the-job training (OJT) is the application of learning and hands-on training by the apprentice. On-the-job training focuses on the skills and knowledge an apprentice must learn during the program to be fully proficient in the role.

• Related Technical Instruction (RTI) is a systematic form of instruction that teaches the apprentice technical knowledge that applies to the job, typically provided in a classroom or online.

• An internship is a position where a trainee or student works for an organization, sometimes without pay (typically anywhere between a few weeks to a year), to gain work experience or satisfy requirements for a qualification, certificate, or credential.

• Time-based apprenticeships are models known for their structured approach: 2,000 hours of on-the-job training per year and 144 hours minimum of related technical instruction.

• Competency-based apprenticeship is an apprenticeship program model where the apprentice is evaluated based on the competencies achieved in the program–not the number of hours completed.

• Hybrid-based apprenticeship is an approach that requires the apprentice to complete a specified minimum number of on-the-job-learning hours and related technical instruction hours and also demonstrate competency in the defined subject areas.

• Standards are A written agreement containing plans for the operation and administration of the apprenticeship program and all terms and conditions for the qualifications, recruitment, selection, employment, and training of apprentices.

• Work process (or processes) are the skills and competencies an apprentice must be proficient in to become a fully-qualified employee for the occupation.

• Roles/pathways are the professions being learned via apprenticeship. For example, BuildWithin has over a dozen approved roles, including software development, QA, data analysis, customer success, and others.

• Module/Building Block(s) encompasses on-the-job training (going to work and completing work tasks) and related technical instruction (RTI). They are not necessarily chronological.

• Learning Units are blocks of content grouped by topic under/within a module.

• Tasks are the work assignments the apprentices complete as part of their daily work activities. Usually, task activities are assigned by the apprentice supervisor.

• Wage Schedule refers to the progressive wage increases built into a registered apprenticeship that occur when an apprentice acquires new competencies or reaches a certain number of hours completed.

  • Both time and competency-based programs follow similar wage structures. However, they may differ in what triggers wage progression. In time-based programs, wages are tied to an apprentice’s total on-the-job hours (typically with at least one wage). Competency-based programs link wage progression to a specific number of competencies achieved. Hybrid programs can use either approach.