When implementing a successful community college registered apprenticeship program, assessing your college’s readiness is a must. Planning a new registered apprenticeship program initiative at a community college requires a systematic assessment plan, investigating both internal and external assets. This assessment should focus on a college’s internal capacity, institutional support, employer partner awareness and interest, employer partner support, labor market capacity, and sustainability.
AACC recommends framing these areas of focus into four segments, outlined below:
Gain a clear understanding of the basic components of a registered apprenticeship program:
- Paid position with wage progression
- On-the-job training
- Related training instruction
- Mentorship
- Credentials
Determine labor market and industry partner needs:
- What are the current labor market needs in your community?
- Can these labor market needs be addressed through registered apprenticeship programming?
- Do area employers understand what a registered apprenticeship means to their organization?
- Do employers have a positive or negative association with registered apprenticeship?
- If negative, can the college successfully market and change these connotations?
- Will employer partners agree to support the development of a registered apprenticeship program and hire registered apprentices?
- Are there opportunities to expand access and broaden the pool of talent? Partner with employers who are focusing on expanding their pipeline such as focusing on women or men in non-traditional fields or underrepresented groups.
Conduct an inventory of your college’s existing assets:
This type of inventory can gauge your college’s readiness and capacity and identify existing assets that can be deployed in support of these programs. These assets range from, but are certainly not limited to:
- Existing relationships (internal and external to the institution)
- Human capital/talent
- Infrastructure and equipment
- Existing curriculum
- Financial resources
- Technology platforms: Systems to track apprenticeship progress, particularly those compatible with USDOL RA standards.
Assess college-wide components and departments that will support registered apprenticeship program development, adoption, and success:
Departments involved may include:
- Admissions, enrollment, and advising
- Recruitment and marketing
- Employer relations
- Fiscal support (Business office)
- Faculty involvement and training
- Workforce development department
- Program development
When assessing these departments, consider the following:
- Does the executive leadership actively support the apprenticeship initiative? Their endorsement and visible commitment are crucial.
- Can the college’s faculty and workforce development department offer the programs and classes appropriate to the needs of employer partners? This includes offering classes in a format, and at times congruent with employer partner needs (i.e. shift work, and on a compacted timeline). These programs could either be associate degrees, certificates, or non-credit programs. The selection of the program should be a collaboration between the college and the employers participating in the registered apprenticeship program.
- Are the faculty and dean of the specific programs involved on board and willing to work on the registered apprenticeship initiative? Faculty engagement and commitment are essential to the success of the apprenticeship initiative.
- Is the college admissions team on board and willing to work on this initiative? This team is integral to outreach activities both inside and outside of the college.
- Is there a college champion or lead for the apprenticeship initiative? This person should be the creative innovator of the registered apprenticeship initiative, passionate about the effort, and able to move the effort from an initiation phase to an execution phase.
AACC stands ready to support your RA expansion success.