Hire an Apprentice

Hiring an IT-Ready Apprentice may be the best move for your growing company. You can also be proud knowing that you’ve given someone a strong chance at success in IT.

Questions Frequently Asked by Employers:

What is the goal of the IT-Ready Apprentice Program?

Employers need workers with the right skills. Would-be employees need to prove they have the right on-the-job abilities. IT-Ready is a win-win for both groups.

Our goal is to give people who need a helping hand the right training, resources and opportunities for an on-the-job experience so they can find meaningful work in the information technology (IT) industry at a family-sustaining wage.

Employers will know that they are not only building a skilled workforce for themselves and the IT industry, but they are also helping people at-risk of poverty to gain upwardly mobile careers while adding to the diversity of the IT workplace.

Is this program limited to certain cities in 2012?

Yes. Those who want to be an apprentice or an employer in 2012 must be based in Cincinnati, Columbus (OH), or Minneapolis / St. Paul. We hope to add cities each year for the next several years.

What is required to be an IT-Ready Apprentice?

To qualify for entrance to the IT-Ready Apprentice Program, candidates live in one of the three target locations and must be high school graduates or have a GED. Entrants to the program undergo technical and business-skills training which lasts six to eight weeks. If the training is successfully completed, the participant is invited to sit for the CompTIA A+ certification exam. Achieving certification qualifies the participant to move into the apprentice phase in which he or she may be placed into an IT apprenticeship with an interested employer.

What is the level of training of an IT-Ready Apprentice?

All IT-Ready Apprentices will have gone through an industry-specific selection and interview process to qualify them for the IT-Ready program. They receive targeted professional development in key business skills such as professional communication and presentation, teamwork and collaboration, and critical thinking and problem solving. IT-Ready Apprentices will be grounded in these key skills and prepared to apply them on day one of their apprenticeship, and will continue to cultivate them with the support of their online and onsite mentors. After completing all training, would-be apprentices sit for the CompTIA A+ certification exam. The CompTIA A+ certification covers desktop and help-desk technical support duties and skills.

To view the list of CompTIA A+ skills in more detail, please visit: http://certification.comptia.org/getCertified/certifications/a.aspx.

Who can employ IT-Ready Apprentices?

Any company that offers technical help-desk assistance to its customers or has an information technology (IT) department which performs desktop support for employees could benefit from an apprentice.

Are IT-Ready Apprentices compensated?

Depending on the location and cost-of-living, employers directly pay the apprentice a market-rate wage of $12-$15 per hour for full-time work over the course of six months.

Are there other fees the employer must pay?

None.

Are there tax benefits?

Depending on an employer’s location, there may be local, state, or federal tax benefits tied to job creation. IT-Ready will inform employers if this is the case.

What HR tasks and duties is the employer required to perform?

We ask every employer to pair the apprentice with an Onsite Mentor who is someone other than the apprentice’s direct supervisor. That mentor guides the apprentice as he or she adjusts to the company culture.

We also ask that our employers fill out an online survey midway through the apprenticeship. At the end of the apprenticeship, the employer is encouraged to provide a written evaluation of the apprentice that, if favorable, can serve as a letter of recommendation for the apprentice as he or she applies for permanent employment.

As an employer, can I offer permanent employment to one of our apprentices if we have an open position?

Absolutely! Although we don’t ask that employers guarantee employment at the end of an apprenticeship, we hope that every employer will consider their apprentices for full-time employment while still maintaining apprenticeship slots for the next wave of IT-Ready candidates.

How can I learn more or sign up?

Whether you are a potential employer, apprentice, or community partner, please get in touch with us through the contact form below or contact Amy Spear at aspear@comptia.org.

"My company is interested in hiring an apprentice. I'd like to learn more."

Download the full Frequently Asked Questions (PDF).