To be eligible for initial and, where applicable,
continued registration, each apprenticeship program shall conform to the
following requirements, applying them to each occupation course where there is
more than one, and shall demonstrate conformity via respective provisions in
the standards.
(A) Program content
(1) The standards will
specifically define the operating area of the program (i.e., the geographic
area in which program activities are expected to take place), as well as the
program's recruitment area (the geographic area from which the program
will recruit applicants for apprenticeship). The recruitment area will comprise
one or more labor market area(s) as defined by the US bureau of labor
statistics. The sponsor will not select operating or recruitment area
boundaries that in effect would exclude or limit applications from female,
minority, or Hispanic populations. The standards will include a brief rationale
for selection of the particular areas designated for operations and for
recruitment. Any change in the geographic scope of operations and/or
recruitment, will be reflected in a modification to standards, and is
contingent on council office approval.
(2) Every apprentice of the program shall
be employed and shall receive both on-the-job training (OJT) and related
instruction (RI) for the purpose of completing an occupation
course.
(3) Every occupation course shall provide
for each apprentice to receive at least two thousand hours of OJT, under the
terms of a work process schedule, included in the standards, that lists the
major work processes to be experienced and the approximate number of hours to
be spent learning each process.
(4) For every two thousand hours of OJT,
the apprentice shall receive at least one hundred forty-four hours of RI, i.e.,
organized instruction of demonstrated value in technical subjects concerning
the apprentice's occupation. RI may be given through classroom courses,
correspondence courses, electronic media, self-study, or other format(s),
subject to council office approval. The sponsor shall provide an outline of RI
courses or topics and the general number of hours to be spent in each, with
titles and/or descriptions that clearly distinguish the subject
matter.
RI shall be designed and/or provided in
conjunction with the university system of Ohio (USO).
(5) For each occupation course, the
program shall set criteria for the apprentice's completion of training and
for progression steps toward completion, in terms of RI and OJT instructional
goals that are consistent with industry norms for the occupation and are
formulated according to one of three instructional models:
(a) With the time-based model, the goals shall specify
which portions of the work process schedule and RI outline an apprentice must
finish for, respectively, achieving each progression step and the completion of
training.
(b) With the competency-based model, the goals shall
specify what competencies must be acquired for completion and for attaining
each progression step. A program that prepares the apprentice for an interim
attainment, shall also identify the attainment in terms of the associated
competency or competencies.
The standards shall define each competency in
terms of specific levels of specific knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to
perform an occupational function at the level normally expected in employment,
and shall do so using the "KSA" terminology (details of which are
found on line at http://www.onetonline.org).
The sponsor shall determine the methods by
which apprentices will attain each competency, and shall describe these in the
standards, including an explanation of how each component of the work process
schedule and RI outline will contribute to the identified competencies.
(c) With the hybrid model, the criteria for each
progression step and for completion may comprise a combination of goals that
are competency-based and those that are time-based in nature as defined in
paragraphs (A)(5)(a) and (A)(5)(b) of this rule; and the standards shall
specify how each goal contributes to a progression step and to completion of
training.
(6) The program shall adopt specific
methods for verifying and recording each apprentice's completion of
training and each achievement of a progression step. These methods shall be
fair and consistent, and conform to all criteria for the respective
instructional model, as stated here:
(a) With the time-based model, the sponsor shall stipulate,
relative to completion and each progression step, what level of performance is
required in each RI and OJT component, and how the program will assess
performance and the hours spent by the apprentice in each
component.
(b) With the competency-based model, the standards shall,
in regard to completion, each progression step, and where applicable each
interim attainment; stipulate the specific tests for assessing the relevant
knowledge, skills, and abilities; and state the specific levels of test
performance that are required.
In a program that prepares the apprentice for
an interim credential, the sponsor shall evaluate and assess the associated
attainment, and the council office shall award the credential if
appropriate.
(c) With the hybrid model, the program shall confirm
achievement of each progression step and of training completion according to
both the time-based and competency-based criteria defined for the respective
models in paragraphs (A)(5)(a) and (A)(5)(b) of this rule.
(7) For each occupation course, the
program shall determine a specific term of training required for completion
that conforms to the following criteria:
(a) With the time-based model, the program shall require a
certain number of hours of OJT, which shall be at least ninety per cent of the
number recommended by the United States office of apprenticeship for the
relevant occupation course.
(b) With the competency-based model, the sponsor shall
define the term by minimum and maximum periods allowed for participation in the
overall occupation course, that ensure adequate time to obtain the occupational
competencies identified in the work process schedule and the RI
outline.
(c) With the hybrid model, the program shall stipulate both
hourly requirements for total OJT and total RI, and a time-table defined by
minimum and maximum periods for participation in the overall occupation
course.
(8) If an occupation course allows the
apprentice to obtain one or more interim credential(s), the program shall
provide this opportunity on a fair and consistent basis.
(9) For all instructors of RI, the
sponsor shall require documented compliance with minimum qualifications,
including but not necessarily limited to the following:
(a) Currently receiving or having completed training in
teaching techniques and adult learning styles; and
(b) Either:
(i) Meeting the
requirements of the university system of Ohio institution with which the
program, pursuant to these rules, collaborates in the design and/or delivery of
RI; or
(ii) Being recognized
within an industry as having expertise that qualifies them as subject matter
experts in their occupation(s).
(B) Apprentice participation and
welfare
(1) Enrollment
(a) For each occupation course, the sponsor shall identify
minimum qualifications for persons to enter the program, including an eligible
starting age not less than sixteen years; and will specify one and only one
selection procedure as defined in rule 5101:11-4-01 of the Administrative
Code.
(b) The sponsor shall provide advanced credit toward
completion to new apprentices who are eligible based on previously acquired
experience, training, competency, and/or skills, and in the standards
shall:
(i) Specify the criteria
for granting credit; a method for evaluating applicants by these criteria and
assigning them to corresponding progression steps, with commensurate wages; and
rules for applying such method consistently, fairly, and without discrimination
based on any consideration besides the stated criteria;
(ii) Ensure that, except
for transfers between registered courses in the same occupation, no apprentice
shall receive advanced OJT credit that exceeds either of the
following:
(a) An amount such that
the remaining time in OJT is two thousand hours or more;
(b) Seventy-five per cent
of OJT required for completion, as defined by the stated term of hours in the
case of time-based training, and by the minimal required period in the case of
competency-based training;
(iii) Stipulate that for
each credit recipient the sponsor will provide the council office at the time
of his/her registration, a voucher form describing all work and training on
which the credit is based (whether for OJT or RI), and records of any past work
or instruction counted towards credit; and
(iv) Acknowledge that all
advanced credit is subject to approval by the council office.
(c) For each individual enrolled in the program, an
apprenticeship agreement will be signed by the sponsor's authorized
representative and by the apprentice and, if the apprentice is a minor, by
his/her legal guardian. The sponsor shall retain a copy of the document for
five years following the apprentice's departure from the program by
completion or cancellation of his/her training. The agreement contents are to
be submitted to the council office in a manner that it prescribes at the time.
Registration of the agreement, and thereby of the apprentice, shall be
conditional upon approval of those contents by the council office.
(2) Participant
status
(a) For each occupation course the program shall specify a
probationary period which is reasonable in relation to the full apprenticeship
term. The probationary period shall not exceed any of the
following:
(i) Two thousand hours of
OJT, or
(ii) Twenty-five per cent
of the stated term in the case of time-based training, or twenty-five per cent
of the stated minimum period in the case of competency-based
training.
(b) All RI and OJT received by an apprentice during
probation shall be credited toward apprenticeship completion. During this
period, the sponsor and/or the apprentice shall be permitted to cancel their
apprenticeship agreement without stated cause.
(c) The sponsor shall request council office registration
of every apprenticeship agreement and any substantive amendment affecting
apprentice training, safety, or supervision. The sponsor shall also report to
the council office every cancellation, extension, and suspension of an
apprenticeship agreement, and the cause of same; and shall request from the
council office a certificate of completion and, if applicable, an interim
credential, for every registered apprentice who meets the relevant criteria.
All reports and requests pursuant to this paragraph, will be submitted to the
council office within forty-five days of the respective changes in apprentice
status.
(d) The transfer of an apprentice between registered
programs for the same occupation, or between occupation courses within a
program, shall only be effective if it is based on concurrence between the
apprentice and every affected apprenticeship sponsor, and is approved by the
council office in accordance with the following requirements:
(i) The apprenticeship
agreement that is in effect before the transfer, must first be
canceled.
(ii) A new apprenticeship
agreement must be executed for enrollment in the receiving course or
program.
(iii) Where an apprentice
transfers between programs, all records of his/her participation in the
releasing program shall be transmitted from the releasing sponsor to the
receiving sponsor or the council office.
(3) Safety and
welfare
(a) In each occupation course, the sponsor shall specify a
schedule for a progressively increasing apprentice wage that at each step
relates to the journey wage, in roughly the same proportion as the apprentice
skill-level to the journey skill-level. The entry wage shall be no less than
the minimum prescribed by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C.
Chapter 8, where applicable, and higher if so required by law, regulation, or a
collective bargaining agreement. Approval by the council office of a program
wage schedule does not ensure its conformity with the wage and hour
requirements for publicly funded construction projects.
(b) The sponsor shall employ a consistent procedure for
adjudicating complaints and differences that may arise between the
apprentice(s) and other parties to the program; and shall make this procedure
known to each apprentice, along with the name and contact information (phone
number, office location, and e-mail address) of the appropriate authority under
the program to receive and process complaints.
(c) The sponsor shall ensure, and demonstrate in the
standards, that all apprentice work and training will take place under safe
conditions, with considerations including but not limited to equipment,
facilities, supervision, and instruction. Safety training shall be included
both in OJT and RI.
(d) The sponsor shall provide the council office and each
apprentice with the name, job title, and contact information of the
sponsor's designee responsible for supervising and training apprentices,
and shall immediately provide them with updates of this information when it
changes.
(e) In all work activity involving an apprentice, a numeric
ratio shall be maintained in the employment of apprentices to that of journey
workers that is consistent with proper supervision, training, safety, and
continued employment. This ratio shall be defined clearly in terms of whether
it applies to the job site, department, facility, or overall work force of the
employer. All apprenticeship training in building and construction occupations
shall comply with the following stipulations regarding the ratio of apprentices
to journey workers employed on the job site at the same time:
(i) Where a program
sponsor is bound by one or more collective bargaining agreement(s) affecting
the pertinent occupation(s), the ratio shall conform to the applicable terms of
the agreement(s).
(ii) Where a program
sponsor is not bound by such an agreement, the ratio shall conform to either of
two criteria:
(a) The applicable terms
of the agreement(s) affecting the pertinent occupation(s) in the geographic
area nearest to the job site; or
(b) The standard formula
of one journey worker for the first apprentice counted at the job site at a
given time, and three journey workers for each additional apprentice at the job
site at that time.
(iii) The council office
retains the right to deny or rescind registration to any program where the
utilized ratio does not ensure adequate safety and supervision of the
apprentice(s).
(C) Program quality
(1) Every program shall
meet criteria of satisfactory instructional quality, including but not limited
to the use of appropriate industry-recognized RI curriculum and delivery
methods.
(2) To remain registered,
a program must have at least one registered apprentice, except during a maximum
of one year for each occurrence of the following intervals:
(a) Between the dates of a program's initial
registration and registration of its first apprentice(s); and
(b) Between the dates of any apprentice's completion
and registration of the next apprentice(s).
(3) A program shall not
fail for more than two consecutive training cycles in any occupation course, to
achieve a training completion rate that is the lesser of:
(a) Sixty-seven per cent, or
(b) The state average rate for the occupation
course.
(D) Program administration
(1) Each sponsor shall
keep adequate records including but not limited to:
(a) Details of recruitment and selection
activities;
(b) All applications;
(c) A summary of each applicant's qualifications and
assessment results, including a summary of interview responses;
(d) A copy of every notice of elimination from an
eligibility pool or from the program;
(e) A copy of every registered apprentice
agreement;
(f) A history of actions affecting the status of each
apprentice in the program, including job assignment, promotion, demotion,
lay-off, and termination; rates of pay and any other forms of compensation;
conditions of work; hours of work and, separately, hours of training
provided;
(g) A statement of its affirmative action plan, developed
as required by the rules in Chapter 5101:11-6 of the Administrative Code,
including all data and analyses developed under the requirements of that
chapter;
(h) Evidence that the program's qualification criteria
bear a statistically significant relationship to good performance in an
apprenticeship program, based on procedures set forth in 41 C.F.R. 60-3 (as in
effect on 5/1/2020); and
(i) Any other records pertinent to determining compliance
with division 5101:11 of the Administrative Code, as may be required by the
council office.
(2) A copy of the
information on each apprentice shall be kept in a separate file specific to
that individual. The records of which applicants are selected or rejected,
shall be maintained in such manner as to permit identification of disabled,
Hispanic, minority, and female participants.
(3) Each record required
by this rule, and any other information relevant to compliance with division
5101:11 of the Administrative Code, shall be made available upon request to the
council office, the United States department of labor, or other authorized
entity, and will be retained by the sponsor until five years elapse following
the completion or cancellation of the transaction to which it pertains - e.g.,
of an individual's apprenticeship in the program, of the effective period
for an affirmative action plan, etc. The council office will resolve questions
regarding the retention requirement for any given document.
(4) The sponsor shall
promptly supply the council office all information required for review of the
program's modification and/or voluntary de-registration.
(E) Nothing in any rule under division
5101:11 of the Administrative Code shall invalidate any of the following that
is not otherwise prohibited by law, executive order, or authorized
regulation:
(1) Any collective
bargaining agreement provision or sponsor policy establishing higher criteria
of safety and/or quality in apprenticeship;
(2) In program standards,
any special provision for veterans, or for minority, female, Hispanic, or
disabled individuals; or
(3) Any program standards
provision that affords equal or greater protection than is found in the rules
in division 5101:11 of the Administrative Code, for individuals based on
Hispanic ethnicity, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual
orientation, age over forty years, genetic information, or
disability.
