7 Must-Have Tools in an Apprenticeship Management System

As an Apprenticeship program sponsor managing recruitment, enrollment, On-the-Job training, and Related Technical Instruction, it’s easy for your to-do list to get out of control.  And while creating a system to manage all this tracking should be carefully considered by every program sponsor, it often gets left to spreadsheets, emails, and paper forms. Inefficient processes can bog down even the most organized programs.

Apprentice tracking software automates tracking to get Apprenticeship sponsors and their partners back to the business of operating and growing the program itself.

But before you add an Apprenticeship tracking tool to your process, it’s important to ensure the system you choose has certain key functions that set your team up for success and U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) compliance.

Apprenticeship Program Compliance: What Needs to be Tracked?

Federal and state agencies enforce certain regulations to ensure sponsors are meeting the standards that apprentices agreed to upon enrollment. Apprenticeships must meet them to pass USDOL audits that determine program compliance.

These organizations require every sponsor to keep the following program records on hand:

• Standards of Apprenticeship
• Program Selection Criteria and Procedures
• Applicable HR Policies
• Affirmative Action Plans
• Inventory of Partners (Employer-Partners, RTI providers, and more)

Sponsors must also track this set of apprentice records. This includes monitoring competency and educational progress, wage progression, and hours worked. Keeping accurate records is vital to program success. A USDOL representative will review these records during an audit:

• On-the-Job Training Progress (i.e., Work Process Schedule)
• Related Technical Instruction Progress (i.e., Courses and Grades) 
• Wage Schedule Adherence
• Apprentice Agreements (i.e., Form 671 or State Agreement)
• Case Notes (i.e., disciplinary actions and other notes)
• Previous Experience (OJT and RTI)

In addition, Apprenticeships receiving federal workforce development funds through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) must comply with additional reporting requirements through the Workforce Integrated Performance System (WIPS). 

Keeping stacks of records straight can challenge most Apprenticeship administrators. A tracking system like ApprentiScope can help companies track relevant records accurately.

What is an Apprenticeship Management System?

An Apprenticeship Management System is a software platform designed to help Registered Apprenticeship sponsors manage all aspects of their programs – from Recruitment to Compliance – to save time and improve training outcomes.

ApprentiScope's Apprenticeship Management System is an intuitive software platform that reduces administrative overhead and improves program efficacy by streamlining all vital program management workflows for Registered Apprenticeships. No two Apprenticeships are the same, so an Apprenticeship Management system should tailor its tool to fit the needs of each customer.

7 Must-Have Tools in an Apprenticeship Management System

The long-term success of an Apprenticeship Program depends largely on quality. Not only quality curriculum and training but also the quality of processes, people, and systems that ensure accurate and dependable reporting. A quality management system helps companies manage the many moving parts of their Apprenticeship Programs.

But what does a quality Apprenticeship Management System look like? It is a system that is easy to use and has tools to track the most critical aspects of an Apprenticeship program. The tools of an excellent management system include:

1. Time Tracking. Time tracking is a significant pain point in Apprenticeship program management. A time tracking tool allows sponsors to track the time apprentices spend on the job and in class. Tools like this save your organization time, improve data accuracy, and boost training outcomes by ensuring you know exactly how your apprentices are progressing in real-time.
   
2. Performance Evaluations. Performance evaluations for skills progression can consume a lot of time. Administrators must evaluate competency levels, efficacy, and skills progression many times throughout the program. A performance evaluation tool simplifies this process and provides instant feedback to apprentices.
   
3. Wage Progression Tracking. A tracking tool makes it easy to see when apprentices are due for increases to ensure apprentices adhere to the Wage Schedule outlined in their Apprentice Agreement.
   
4. Case Management. Companies need an easy way to track an apprentice’s progress through the program outside their OJT, RTI, and Wages. Robust case management tools give administrators a holistic profile with notes and documents for each apprentice as they move through the program.
   
5. Compliance & Reporting Tools. It is vital that your Apprenticeship Management System can aggregate your data into downloadable forms and easily digestible reports to ensure USDOL audits and compliance reporting go smoothly.
   
6. Employer Management. For Multi-Employer Sponsors, it can be difficult to onboard and track data within multiple employer partners. You’ll want to ensure your Apprenticeship Management System makes it easy to accomplish this. In ApprentiScope, you can invite new employers by email, and the system takes care of the rest automatically. Administrators can then track real-time analytics to see how each employee-partner is doing, making it easier to scale your offerings across many employers.
   
7. Occupation Management. Every Apprenticeship program starts with your Standards of Apprenticeship document. Occupation Management tools allow you to create digital versions of these documents, collaborate with employers to design occupation requirements, and deploy them to new employers with ease.

Recruiting 

A key part of a successful Apprenticeship program is recruiting. Specific skills, knowledge, and attitudes set apprentices up for success. Employers need a way to assess those characteristics in new recruits.

Most Apprenticeship Management Systems do not include recruiting tracking capabilities, but it is a foundational element for some Apprenticeship programs. A recruiting feature helps companies streamline applications and create custom landing pages where applicants can apply directly to be considered for the program. 

An effective recruiting tool provides a central location for employers to collect documentation, evaluate experience, set up custom prerequisites, and request documents. Once applicants apply, the tool tracks whether they move forward in the hiring process or get rejected and collects all required documentation for each.

ApprentiScope is the only Apprenticeship Management System that combines recruitment and applicant tracking with program tracking to comply with USDOL and state regulations.

Related Content: 10 Records Apprenticeship Sponsors Need to Keep

Simplify Program Management

Despite the daunting number of tasks that come with starting and running an Apprenticeship, companies can check things off their lists faster with an Apprenticeship Management System. 

An Apprenticeship Tracking tool makes it simple to collect key data elements that ensure the program complies with all USDOL and state regulatory requirements. This software puts all the information you need at your fingertips.

Putting Apprenticeship metrics and measures in a central location keeps Apprenticeships on track. It frees administrators from a mess of spreadsheets, paper forms, and emails and allows them to focus on what matters most.