This is a quick summary or outline of how one obtains a “Registered Apprentice.” The subscribing employer is first required to enroll their designated “Supervisor of Apprentices” in a workshop with the training center registrar to learn the obligations and details of adhering to the Registered Apprenticeship Standards. Once an ABC member company executes the “Subscribing Employer Agreement” and has assigned someone in their company to be the “Supervisor of Apprentices” and when the Supervisor of Apprentices attends and completes the workshop that reviews the guidelines and procedures for the Registered Apprentice Program, there are two paths available to have a “registered apprentice.”

The subscribing employer may choose to interview and hire a qualified candidate from the pool of prospective applicants maintained by the Nebraska South Dakota Training Trust, or they may elect to take an existing employee and propose him or her as a candidate for a registered apprentice.

DIRECT ENTRY: This path may be used for an employer who desires to enroll an existing employee as a registered apprentice, provided the employee has been employed for a minimum of 90 days as a full-time employee. An individual who is gainfully employed by a Subscribing Employer may have direct entry to the program as long as they have demonstrated that they already meet the minimum qualifications for apprenticeship and is approved by the Nebraska South Dakota Training Trust. The Subscribing Employer’s Supervisor of Apprentices completes an application for each employee that they desire to enter in to the program as an apprentice and sends the form to the Training Center Registrar along with the necessary supporting documents. The next step is approval by the Nebraska South Dakota Training Trustees.

NEW HIRE: The Subscribing Employer can also look over the pool of prospective applicants maintained by the Nebraska South Dakota Training Trust. In order to do that, a request is made of the Training Center Registrar. The Training Center Registrar will then go over the process for selecting a candidate from the pool for an interview and provide you with a list of qualified candidates from the pool for you to review for a possible interview. The “pool” is merely a referral service for member companies who are also Subscribing Employers. The Nebraska/South Dakota Chapter undertakes an annual recruiting drive in conjunction with the career counselors from high schools across the state to make the graduating seniors aware that they can pursue entry in to the skilled trades by completing or making an application to the Nebraska South Dakota Training Trust. The subscribing employer must and is responsible for doing their own due diligence just as they would do if someone walked in off the street to apply. In addition, this pool is made up of apprentices who have been laid off and want to complete or continue their apprenticeship. Please understand apprentices who are registered with an employer cannot apply to the pool. If the employer hires someone from the pool and the employer desires to enroll him/her in the apprenticeship program, the applicant has already met the minimum qualifications for an apprenticeship, so they are forwarded for approval by the Nebraska South Dakota Training Trustees.

Once approved by the Nebraska South Dakota Training Trustees, an apprenticeship agreement for each registered apprentice is (Form 671) processed through the RAPIDS by the Training Center Register. The apprenticeship agreement will be thoroughly reviewed in detail with the apprentice, the employer’s supervisor of apprentices, and the program sponsor (Nebraska South Dakota Training Trust), and all parties will sign the agreement. The employer acknowledges he will pay the minimum hourly wage rate or more as based on the OJL periods (on the job learning) or progression. The apprentice agrees that they will work for the employer and attend and pass the classroom training along with maintaining a satisfactory job evaluation for all OJL periods. Accurate OJL records are critical for an apprentice to get proper credit for time worked in the trade as the OJL hours/periods are the basis for determining the wage paid to the apprentice and reciprocity between state licensing boards.

For questions, email:
[email protected]
or call
Lincoln (402) 477-4451
Omaha (402) 344-4258