Survey Finds Sponsors Many Benefits to Apprenticeship

A federally funded survey of registered apprenticeship sponsors found that they overwhelmingly “believe they are reaping a wide array of benefits from apprenticeship programs” and would recommend registered apprenticeship to others. The U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (ETA) funded the Urban Institute Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population’s March 2009 report “The Benefits and Challenges of Registered Apprenticeship: The Sponsors’ Perspective.” The report is based on a survey of employers that was conducted in spring 2007, before the apprenticeship regulations were revised in fall 2008. According to the nearly 1,000 people surveyed, benefits they receive as sponsors of registered apprenticeship programs include: adding to the productivity and high quality of services (70%), increased worker morale or pride (69%), fewer safety problems (68%) and meeting the demand for skilled workers (83%), among others. When asked to list the costs and drawbacks of registered apprenticeship, the sponsors’ major concerns were the number of apprentices who drop out before attaining journeyworker status (24% of respondents called it a “significant problem" and another 31% labeled it a “minor problem”); and 25% said poaching by competitors after the apprentice is fully skilled is a “significant problem” with another 29% labeling it “minor.” Many other issues that sponsors were asked about, including related instruction, experienced workers’ time, the amount of time it takes to train a worker through an apprenticeship program and management of the program, all were deemed “not a problem” by a majority of the survey respondents. Other items of note in the survey: • More than half (54%) of the respondents said their completion rate is at least 80%. • Reasons given for non-completion are pretty much split between personal issues (36%), performance problems on the job or in the classroom (32%), and the apprentice earned a license in a licensed occupation and took another job before completing the apprenticeship (30%). • Sponsors use a variety of recruitment methods, but the one deemed “effective” by 66% of respondents was referrals from current employees. Community colleges and technical schools were rated effective by 41% of respondents; 34% listed high schools as effective; and 35% said newspapers (compared to only 18% for the Internet). • All but 3% said they would recommend registered apprenticeship to others with 88% “strongly” recommending and 11% recommending “with reservations.” • Sponsors said they could use more help: finding and screening applicants (51%); finding related instruction (41%); faster registration of apprentices (36%); and simpler process for setting up a new program (37%). A downloadable copy of the complete survey can be found on ETA’s research page. As part of the survey, respondents were asked about their connection to the Workforce System and One-Stop Career Centers. Less than one-fifth said they have used a One-Stop Career Center to post apprenticeship openings. Only 16% said they have ever gotten applicants from a center and a mere 14% said they had ever been asked by a center to post apprenticeship openings. As one of the steps it is taking to increase those percentages, the ETA’s Workforce3 One, an online, interactive communication and learning platform, recently created a Community of Practice (CoP) web site to help people involved with registered apprentices connect and share challenges and solutions. Some areas around which the community offers avenues of discussion: • The registered apprenticeship model - learn best practices and new models around leveraging the Workforce Investment Act (WIA); • WIA programs and One-Stop Career Centers - learn how to integrate registered apprenticeship; • Educators - learn how registered apprenticeship can support your students as a path to career success; • Employers - promote your program and recruit new apprentices; • Apprentices - share your experiences with your peers and others; and • Green jobs and the greening of apprenticeship – What does it mean for future collaborations?