Section 254.990  Apprenticeship Programs

Programs of related instruction supported with vocational education funds and offered by local educational agencies for apprentices who are employed to learn skilled trades shall conform to the following criteria:

a)         the program of related instruction shall be made equally available to all individuals;

b)         the vocational training is supplemental to the on-the-job training experience of the apprentice;

c)         the worker involved in the apprenticeable occupation must be at least 16 years of age, except where a higher minimum age standard is otherwise fixed by law;

d)         the apprentice training agreement must specify a given length of planned work experience training through employment on the job which is supplemented by related instruction;

e)         the skilled trade must possess all of the following characteristics –

1)         it is customarily learned in a practical way through training and work on the job,

2)         it is clearly identified and commonly recognized throughout an industry,

3)         it involves manual, mechanical, and/or technical skills and knowledge, and

4)         it provides equal access to persons of both sexes;

f)         apprentices will be classified as follows –  

1)         registered

            the program or the apprentice, or both are registered by the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, U.S. Department of Labor, under "standards" or "fundamentals" approved by the Federal Committee on Apprenticeship,

2)         non-registered

            the program or the apprentice is not registered but a noncertifiable apprenticeship program is conducted under an implied or written agreement between the apprentice and an individual employer, a group of employers, employer-employee committees, or a governmental agency; and

g)         the standards of apprenticeship programs must adhere to the requirements outlined in 29 CFR 29 (Department of Labor Apprenticeship Programs).