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1. PROGRAM SPONSOR: The program sponsor can be an individual employer, groups of employers, or combinations of employers and unions. Combinations of equal number of employers and unions are called joint labor management apprenticeship committees. The term often is shortened to Joint Apprenticeship Committee (JAC) or Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC). The latter term, JATC, applies if the committee administers a journeyperson-training program to upgrade skills in addition to directing an apprentice program.

2. JOURNEYPERSON: A worker who has satisfactorily completed an apprenticeship and is classified as a skilled worker in that trade or craft.

3. WORK PROCESSES: A list of skills, which sets forth what the Apprentice is to learn and perform. When the Apprentice’s productivity and proficiency have reached the level of skill specified by the work processes, and has also completed the number of hours required, the Apprentice will have reached the Journeyperson skill level.

4. RELATED INSTRUCTION: This is the formal classroom-training portion of the registered Apprenticeship Program. Generally, this instruction is provided through a Community College or through trade, industrial, or correspondence courses of equivalent value or other forms of approved self-study.

5. PROGRESSIVE WAGE SCALE: This is the wage scale for the Apprentice. It provides that newly entered Apprentices are paid a starting percentage of the average journeyperson’s wage rate that is not less than the minimum wage (or higher, if required by an applicable law or regulation) at the registration of the Apprentice and specifies percentage increases throughout the term of the apprenticeship. Wage scales can also be set forth in Collective Bargaining Agreements, which are recognized by the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council (MATC) when Apprentices are part of a bargaining unit.

6. APPRENTICESHIP RECORDKEEPING: Apprenticeship recordkeeping includes the timely and accurate documentation of both Work Processes (on-the-job training) and Related Instruction (classroom training) as established in the Sponsor’s Standards of Apprenticeship. These records will be reviewed by Apprenticeship and Training Field Representatives throughout the duration of the Apprentice’s training to ensure progress and compliance with the Standards.

These records are the primary source to verify eligibility and competence for certification of the Apprentice to Journeyperson status. These records also assist Sponsors in making work assignments to Apprentices, ensuring an Apprentice exposure to the broad array of skills necessary for proficiency in the Apprentice’s occupation.

7. CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION: This is a document signed by the Sponsor, the Secretary of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR), the Chairperson of the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council and the Director of the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Program attesting to an Apprentice’s successful completion of all required training through which the individual is recognized as a Journeyperson in the occupation in which he/she has been trained. Sponsors are to formally request the issuance of a Certificate of Completion from the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council; attesting to the fact that required Work Processes (on-the-job training) and Related Instruction (classroom training) have been successfully completed as established in the Apprenticeship Agreement and Standards of Apprenticeship.

The Sponsor of a registered Apprenticeship Program is perhaps the key participant. This is especially true because of the various responsibilities that the Sponsor has accepted. Some of these responsibilities are discussed below:

1. Provide broad, well-rounded training and job experience in the Work Processes in order to ensure that the Apprentice will qualify at the completion of the program to be a Journeyperson.

2. Assure that progressive wage increases are effected in a timely manner and are based upon the Apprentice’s satisfactory performance as documented by both Work Processes (on-the-job training) and Related Instruction (classroom training) records. Apprentice wage rates may be accelerated in recognition -- and as an incentive -- in those instances where Apprentices demonstrate rapid progress in acquiring the skills of the occupation in which being trained.

3. Monitor the Related Instruction curriculum to assure that it is comprehensive, up-to-date and complements the skills, which are being taught on-the-job. Monitor Apprentices’ attendance and performance in Related Instruction classes.

4. Significant emphasis has been placed on the subject of required recordkeeping and maintenance for the Apprenticeship Training Program. Documentation for each step in the Apprentice’s training is necessary for the eventual issuance of the Certificate of Completion. Recordkeeping also provides the Sponsor a definitive method for planning Apprentices’ work assignments and gives a measure of the Apprentice’s abilities. Apprenticeship and Training Representatives will, on each program review visit to the Sponsor, review in detail the individual records of Apprentices. Work Processes, Related Instruction and Wage Progression are the three (3) most significant elements which will, as a matter of routine, be thoroughly reviewed for accuracy and compliance. Should questions arise, or there is a need for technical assistance, please contact the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Program (MATP) at (410) 767-2246.