Apprenti’s Screening and Hiring Process, Explained

If you’ve spent some time researching Apprenti’s registered apprenticeship program, you may have noticed that candidates are required to complete a multi-step process before being accepted. Our staff receive many questions about these steps, so here are some additional details to demystify the hiring process and help you plan ahead.

Assessment

The first step is simple: register for the assessment on our website. Here, we gather basic demographic information and ask which roles and locations you are interested in.  After registration, you can take our assessment, which consists of three sections – math, logic and critical thinking, and soft skills – and access test prep materials.

Each candidate has four chances total to take the assessment. Following the first two attempts, you are required to wait three months before trying again. If you score high enough to achieve a place on our ranked list – which for most locations is at least 80% and in Seattle is at least 85% – congratulations! You’re officially eligible to be considered for apprenticeship opportunities.

Phone Screen and WTIA Interview 

Staff schedule phone screens when a hiring partner requests apprentices. If candidates pass the phone screen, they are invited to interview with staff. We gather information about transferable skills, motivation, communication, and other characteristics that lead to success in an apprenticeship. We do not collect résumés or make candidates whiteboard.

Hiring Partner Interview

If a candidate passes both of these interviews, they will be sent to interview with the interested hiring partner. If a candidate is not chosen by the first employer who they interview with, in most cases they are eligible to be sent to interviews with other employers.

Training

Once an apprentice has been chosen by a hiring partner, it’s time to buckle down and hit the books. Apprentices are placed into three to five months of technical training before they go on the job (the length of the training depends on the occupation). Training is delivered by local training providers  such as Code Fellows, TLG Learning, Northern Virginia Community College, and Launch Academy.

Technical training is an intense, full-time commitment, with studying required outside of class. Some employers provide apprentices a wage or stipend during technical training, though this is not required. Most occupations require industry-recognized certifications in skills such as A+, Network+, and Linux+.

Post-Training

As long as the apprentices pass the requirements of technical training, they continue on to their paid year of on-the-job training. During on-the-job training, they are matched with a mentor who is available to them at least 75% of the time. During on-the-job training, there are sometimes further exams to pass before completion. Once the apprentice has been on the job for six months, they are eligible for a salary increase as long as they are meeting competency requirements. They may have reached the Apprenti finish line, but their career has just begun.

To find out more about the experience of apprentices in our program, read more here, here, and here.