Still searching for the right occupation?

If you are unable to find your occupation in the list, even after using these search methods, then the program sponsor must request that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship approve the occupation to be added to the list. DOL will not approve the sponsor’s program without this step. You (or the sponsor) will need to work with the U.S. Department of Labor or your State Apprenticeship Agency to add the occupation to the list before you can register your youth apprenticeship program. This process involves completing a formal request for the occupation to be approved as an apprenticeable occupation. This process can take months to complete. It requires the DOL to reach out to eight to 10 industry professionals and associations to solicit their feedback on the occupation and provide a review of the proposed occupation. Based on the feedback, the DOL will determine whether the occupation is apprenticeable.

In almost all cases, it is best to align your youth apprenticeship with an existing apprenticeable occupation. The rare exception to this is that an employer’s requirements for the role are unique, and alignment is not possible. This should only be pursued in the rare cases when you cannot find any way to align your occupation to the current list.