Apprenticeship Programs

What Is Apprenticeship?

Apprenticeship is a relationship between an employer and an employee during which the employee, or apprentice, learns an occupation. An apprenticeship covers all aspects of the occupation and includes both on-the-job training and related instruction. Apprentices who successfully complete the prescribed number of hours in training in a registered apprenticeship program are awarded certificates of completion.

What Kind Of Employer Can Have An Apprenticeship Program?

Apprenticeship is for companies of all sizes, not just large ones. A program can be sponsored by a single employer, a group of large or small employers or a union. Actually, only one apprentice may constitute the establishment of an apprenticeship program.

How Will An Apprenticeship Program Help An Employer?

If an employer needs trained workers now and in the future, you can benefit from an apprenticeship program. Experience indicates that apprentices are more motivated, learn their jobs faster, are more loyal to an employer who helped provide training and are more likely to become supervisors than workers trained in other ways.

The cost of on-the-job training through apprenticeship is lower, because wages are paid in proportion to the skills and abilities of the apprentice. The apprentice begins earning approximately half the wages of workers fully trained in the occupation and usually advances at six-month intervals until the apprentice completes the training.

What Kind Of Instruction Is Required For Apprenticeship Programs?

Training can last from one to five years depending upon the occupation and its requirements. Instruction includes related subjects such as mathematics, blueprint reading, applied English and technical courses needed for the specific occupation. Instruction can be provided through traditional classroom presentations or an individual competency-based program, which allows apprentices to advance according to their abilities. Instruction is then applied under the supervision of a skilled journey worker through on-the-job training. Apprentices will receive certification of instruction through B.A.T. and Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas.

Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas in conjunction with the Arkansas Department of Workforce Education Apprenticeship Office, the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Apprenticeship Training, and the Southwest Arkansas Apprenticeship Committees sponsor three apprenticeship programs:

Apprenticeship Office
Vocational & Technical Education Division
Three Capitol Mall
Little Rock, AR 72201-1083
(501) 682-1360

U.S./D.O.L.
Bureau of Apprenticeship Training
Federal Building, Room 3507
700 W. Capitol
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 324-5415

Continuing Education