What Employers Need to Know
About Starting a Registered Apprenticeship Program
MACNY acts as a group sponsor and intermediary for our local businesses and help them establish New York State Registered Apprenticeships at their companies. Registered Apprenticeship is a proven method for workforce expansion that increases the number of qualified individuals in middle and high-skilled occupations in manufacturing.
Why Should Your Company Start a Registered Apprenticeship Program?
- Industries need a more robust talent pipeline because the manufacturing industry accounts for 10% of the U.S. economy.
- MIAP is a business-led approach targeted at raising the skill levels of manufacturing workers and creating distinctive career pathways, while filling a crucial need within the industry.
- Through on-the-job training employers are provided with the structure necessary to attract candidates from all education and experience levels.
How Do We Help Companies Start a Registered Apprenticeship Program?
- We act as a group sponsor (MACNY obtained the first-in-the-state approval from the NYSDOL to become a group sponsor for advanced manufacturing).
- We manage relationships with the NYSDOL.
- We ease the administrative burden of company registrations.
- We help establish internal processes and coordinate work-related classes with community colleges and other. education providers.
- We source funding streams on behalf of companies to offset the costs of the program.
- We provide support and guidance to ensure your program is successful.
What's the Return on Investment of a Registered Apprenticeship Program?
- 27% return on investment dollars
- National investment in direct apprentice support for related technical instruction
- State tax credits
- Federal incentive programs
- For employers, Registered Apprenticeship is a solution to the shrinking candidate pool.
- Apprentices are employees that a company invests in from day one. With that comes greater employee retention, with over 80% of apprentices remaining with the company 5 years after program completion.
Benefits of Choosing a Registered
Apprenticeship Program:
Steady supply of workers, trained without losing valuable production time, and coveted career opportunities for participants.
- Reduced costs for employer and learner, increased efficiency and productivity, and reduced turnover.
- Structured and consistent training program leads to a highly skilled workforce.
- 8 Unique economic regions
- 7 Manufacturing associations working on behalf of manufacturing success
- Support of on the job training
- Support of related technical instruction (RTI)
- Increased retention and attendance, workers with no student loans who earn while they learn and obtain good-paying jobs.
Earn a reputation of being an industry leader in providing high-quality employment and training opportunities.
National industry recognition of skills and credentials.
Steps to Sponsor a Registered Apprenticeship Program:
Step 1: Contact MACNY, The Manufacturers Association, with your interests.
Step 2: Meet with the experienced MACNY staff to create a customized plan.
Step 3: Identify new or current staff to become apprentices.
Step 4: MACNY will sign apprentices and train them on expectations of the Registered Apprenticeship program.
Step 5: Submit all required documents to the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL).
Step 6: Your company’s Registered Apprenticeship program is up and running!
Fast Facts about Registered Apprenticeship:
Training Approaches:
Includes 2,000 hours minimum of on-the-job training and 144 hours minimum of related instruction per year.
Apprentices complete a minimum of 1,000 hours of on-the-job training in any area of the training outline. Apprentices register for at least 144 hours of related instruction but may test out earlier. Apprentices participate until they have shown competency for each skill in the training outline. Competency is demonstrated by both written and hands-on testing.
This is a combination of time-based and competency-based approaches. Apprentices must complete a minimum of 1,000 hours of on-the-job training. However, this includes a minimum number of training hours for each skill/task prior to testing.
How to Offset the Cost of a Registered Apprenticeship Program:
Empire State Apprenticeship Tax Credit
The Empire State Apprenticeship Tax Credit provides tax incentives to certified Registered Apprenticeship program sponsors for registering new qualified apprentices through 2026. For group programs, the tax credit program is also available to the sponsor’s approved participating signatory employers.
- This program is focused on demand occupations, excluding construction trades.
- Enhanced credits are offered to those who employ disadvantaged youth (age 16-24 at time of enrollment) as apprentices and for those who engage the support of a mentor*.
- Qualified apprentices must be employed full-time (a minimum of 35 hours per week) for at least six months during the tax year.
Apprenticeship Expansion Grant
The New York State Department of Labor has committed up to $3.8 million to expand New York State Registered Apprenticeship by increasing employment opportunities for approximately 800 apprentices with a focus on underrepresented populations.
- This grant will focus on Advanced Manufacturing, Health Care, Information Technology, and other in-demand occupations identified by Regional Economic Development Councils (REDCs) and Local Workforce Development Boards.
- Applicants may apply for up to $300,000 for each award, where up to $10,000 per apprentice is allowed to cover costs associated with training apprentices.
- This funding will cover costs such as related instruction, on-the-job training, books, and tools.
- Eligible applicants include sponsors or the sponsor’s approved participating signatory employers.
SUNY Apprenticeship Program Funding
In 2016, Former Governor Cuomo announced Apprentice SUNY to expand Registered Apprenticeships for 21st century jobs. Local campuses apply to designated lead campuses for funding to support:
- Related instruction costs
- Industry roundtables
- Creating curriculum for new trades
- Being a competency-based apprenticeship testing center
Frequently Asked Questions:
Apprenticeship is a time-honored approach to training skilled workers through a combination of on-the job training and classroom instruction. Each apprenticeable occupation has its own standard training outline which details the on-the-job training and classroom instruction required. Apprentices are full-time employees who produce high-quality work while they learn skills that enhance their employment prospects. An apprentice operates under the close supervision of a skilled worker on the job and takes related classroom instruction at night or on weekends. A graduated pay scale assures that salary reflects the degree of skill achieved.
Apprenticeship programs are conducted by employers, jointly by employers and unions, or by groups of employers. The State Department of Labor registers apprenticeship programs, working with forward-looking businesses across the state to develop the skilled workforce of the future.
Yes. We are recommending that the best candidates for an apprenticeship are existing entry level employees that show good work habits and are looking for future growth within the company.
Each company selects its own apprentices from its current workforce.
One of the requirements of a registered apprenticeship program is a “wage progression.” The apprentice begins at an entry level salary and over the course of the training receives incremental increases as they successfully master the trade. Some of you may be familiar with the term “pay for performance” – the concept is very similar. Each company sets its own internal wage progression.
When you contact us (see below) we will schedule a time to meet you at your facility. You should probably have HR representation, an operations person, and someone from management with the authority to approve the program involved in the meeting.
The on-the-job training is done by your skilled trades people at your facility. We will provide you with a detailed training outline for them to follow, along with training on how to instruct the apprentices. The related instruction, which will range from 3-5 hours per week, will be provided by ToolingU and local community colleges. We will coordinate all of the related instruction for you.
There is work involved in launching a Registered Apprenticeship program, as an employer works with the Alliance to design the details of the program. The Alliance has the experience to ensure that this process is as streamlined as possible. This program is a vehicle used to standardize training, in compliance with NYSDOL standards. The Alliance takes care of all paperwork and interfaces with the NYSDOL, but the employer ensures that on-the-job training is taking place.
MACNY serves as the program sponsor on your behalf. The only information Labor will check on any of the participating companies is whether Unemployment Insurance has been paid and Income Taxes have been filed. All other contact with Labor goes through MACNY.
As mentioned above, we will provide a detailed competency based training outline that you can check off as the apprentice masters each skill. We will also supply a Learning Management System (LMS) from ToolingU that will allow you to track all of the training as it is completed. You will have to have your skilled trades people dedicate some time to instructing the apprentices, but as they learn, their increased knowledge will allow them to “pay back” as a return on your investment (ROI).
We have heard from many companies that they are faced with the coming retirements of many of their skilled trades persons. Unfortunately, many of the apprentice programs that used to be offered by the larger companies no longer exist. There is just not a ready supply of Journey Worker-level employees in the workforce. Unless we begin to replace those who are retiring now, and allow them to pass on their skills before they leave, we will be in deep trouble tomorrow.
There are certainly costs to training new workers, but there is currently support to offset the costs associated with Registered Apprenticeship:
- SUNY NYCAN funding – $5k per trade per apprentice for community college classes taken – equates to approximately 3-4 classes, or nearly all of the Related Instruction requirement for a four-year trade.
- Apprenticeship Expansion Grant (AEG) funding – since 2019, the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) has offered this funding to offset training costs associated with Registered Apprenticeship. Its purpose is to support apprenticeship expansion throughout New York State. During the most recent round of funding, employers were invited to submit RFPs for up to $13k/apprentice/on-the-job training costs.
- Empire State Apprenticeship Tax Credits – provides eligible employers with tax incentives for registering new qualified apprentices on or after January 1, 2018.
It can. Our SUNY partners are experts at creating pathways to degrees; many of the trade-related classes are also relevant to degree programs
No. Employers conduct their own recruiting. Alliance Partners work with employers by sponsoring Registered Apprenticeship programs for their new and incumbent workforce.
The Alliance can help you with this by engaging with our NYSDOL partners to design a new trade or to adapt an existing trade to specification.
As many as you feel comfortable registering and for whom you have available mentors.
One of the benefits of having the Alliance sponsor the program for your company is that MACNY participates in many workforce development grants and initiatives. As such, MACNY is connected to funding sources that benefit signatories whenever possible. In 2022, for example, MACNY coordinated the delivery of $300K in Apprenticeship Expansion Grant money (to offset on-the-job training expenses) among several signatories throughout the state.
If your company is interested in launching a Registered Apprenticeship program, the Alliance can help! Have them contact our Workforce Development team to get started.