South Carolina Registered Apprenticeship
A registered apprenticeship is an employer-sponsored training program that produces highly skilled workers who meet workforce demands.
Apprenticeship Carolina works in partnership with the South Carolina Technical College System to help employers access training for which students receive credit toward earning a degree or certificate as well as directly with employers to identify employer-led education programs.
You can find more on registered apprenticeship at the following sites:
U.S. Department of Labor Apprenticeship Division
Apprenticeship Carolina
How it Works
A registered apprenticeship consists of two complementary components:
- Supervised on-the-job training provided by an employer at the workplace and customized to meet job-specific needs.
- Related technical instruction (or “RTI”). This instruction serves to reinforce the theory underlying the skills being learned on the job.
Length of training: Programs can range in length from one to six years as determined by the length of training that is common in the given occupation and the individual employer’s needs.
What you’ll learn: Specific training content is determined by employers within recommended guidelines, and an employer has the discretion to award advanced standing to apprentices who enter a program with demonstrated skills.
Earn while you learn: Registered apprenticeship programs also include a “scalable” wage component that rewards participants for mastering new competencies. This provides incentive for the employee to complete the program. It also provides a cost offset for an employer investing in employees who will not immediately be performing at full productivity, as well as a retention tool for employers who are investing in their employee training. While this wage and its progressive increments are determined by the employer and not a state or federal agency, an apprentice cannot start at less than the federal or state minimum wage.
Benefits for Students
- Creates a career pathway for an employee to graduate from a lower skill level to the full performance level in a given occupation
- “Scalable” wage component by which an employee receives increases as he or she demonstrates the attainment of new competencies. This provides an incentive for the employee to complete the program.
Benefits for Employers
- Structured, on-the-job learning that meets your hiring needs while it prepares your company for the future
- Pipeline of skilled workers who have both industry-specific training and hands-on experience
- Customized opportunity to meet your needs and make adjustments as needs change
- South Carolina employers with registered apprenticeship programs are also eligible to receive a $1,000 tax credit for each registered apprentice employed for at least seven months during each year of his or her apprenticeship program, for up to four years.