A pre-apprenticeship is a training program designed to prepare people for full-time apprenticeships in specific industries or trades. Pre-apprenticeships are often beneficial to construction workers, electricians, painters, and drywall finishers. Pre-apprenticeships are available for people who want to be bricklayers, roofers, ironworkers, and steam fitters, as well as diesel and auto mechanics. Workers who complete pre-apprenticeship programs gain knowledge and hands-on experience that can help them land a competitive apprenticeship or job.
Unlike many other professions, blue-collar laborers typically complete four-year apprenticeship programs that include both academic training and paid on-the-job experience. People who enroll in a pre-apprenticeship get a head start on becoming apprentices learning prerequisite skills, getting a sense of what to expect on a daily basis in their chosen profession, and learning strategies for being accepted into formal apprenticeships. A preparatory apprenticeship, which is seen as the first step in a laborer’s career, pays sub-professional wages. However, after completing a pre-apprenticeship, a worker can advance to apprentice status, which pays more, and then to journeyman status, which pays even more.
Because of the emphasis on job readiness, pre-apprenticeships include a large number of work-site visits during which participants can observe job skills in action. Individual job shadowing, in which aspiring workers are matched one-on-one with veterans in their desired occupation, is common during these visits. Members of preparatory apprenticeship programs spend time in a classroom or lab with certified instructors learning from both manuals and mock job situations when they are not at construction sites, mills, plants, or other sites absorbing experiential knowledge.
Pre-apprenticeship programs are typically divided into two types, each geared toward a different demographic. One type is for teenagers who are still in school or who have dropped out. These programs are typically developed workforce development centers or employers in collaboration with high schools or adult education programs. A person who enrolls in this type of pre-apprenticeship must be on track to graduate with a high school diploma or an equivalent certification the end of the program. Many teenagers attend school and work in preparatory apprenticeships at the same time, becoming a pre-apprentice in their senior or junior year of high school.
The other type of apprenticeship program is for people over the age of 21. Trade businesses typically set up these programs in order to funnel newly skilled workers into their private apprenticeship programs and then into their full-time workforce. Adult pre-apprenticeships are popular among laid-off workers and those seeking a career change because they are more challenging, have more mature instructional delivery, and are designed for people with more life experience.
A worker must first apply to an employer or recruiter for a pre-apprenticeship. Labor unions frequently keep track of which preparatory programs are currently accepting applications. After being accepted into the program, a participant usually receives a letter of hire that outlines the program’s expectations and duration. Pre-apprenticeships last two years on average and can include over 1,000 hours of training.