“Can a small company run an apprenticeship?” Yes. The federal rules define a sponsor broadly, as “any person, association, committee, or organization operating an apprenticeship program” (29 CFR §29.2), and the Labor Department says a sponsor can be a single business. The better question for a three-truck shop is whether to run its own program or to join one someone else already runs. This article covers what each road commits you to, how the hours count toward a trade license, and how the GI Bill makes your opening worth more to a veteran. For where to find apprentices in the first place, see Where to Find Tradespeople.
Sponsor or employer: two different jobs
Every registered program has a sponsor. Apprenticeship.gov says the sponsor “assumes the full responsibility for administration and operation of the apprenticeship program,” and that sponsors can be a single business, a consortium of businesses, or a workforce intermediary such as an industry association or a labor-management organization; community colleges and community-based organizations can sponsor too. The program is registered with a registration agency: the Labor Department’s Office of Apprenticeship or a recognized State Apprenticeship Agency (§29.2).
The employer is a separate role. The same section defines an employer as “any person or organization employing an apprentice whether or not such person or organization is a party to an Apprenticeship Agreement with the apprentice.” In plain terms, you can hire, pay and train an apprentice while an association, a joint union-management committee or a college carries the sponsor’s paperwork.
Road one: sponsor your own program
Running your own means writing and keeping “an organized, written plan (program standards)” that meets 29 CFR §29.5. The full list of standards is in the article linked above. These are the ones that land hardest on a small shop:
Each apprentice signs a written agreement under §29.7. It must cover, among other things, the occupation and the term, the hours on the job and in related instruction, a schedule of the work processes and the time on each, “the graduated scale of wages to be paid to the apprentice and whether or not the required related instruction is compensated,” the probation period, an equal opportunity statement, and a parent’s or guardian’s signature if the apprentice is a minor. If you plan to take on someone under 18, check first what work they may do; see Summer Help Under 18.
Sponsors also follow the equal opportunity rules in 29 CFR Part 30. One piece is lighter for small programs: a sponsor whose program has fewer than five apprentices registered is exempt from developing the affirmative action program described in §30.4(b) and (c), unless the program was adopted to get around those requirements. The equal opportunity pledge and the selection method that §29.5(b)(21) requires of every program still apply.
You do not draft it alone. Apprenticeship.gov’s steps for creating a program are to pick an occupation with its Occupation Finder, find partners with its Partner Finder, “Connect with Office of Apprenticeship or State Apprenticeship Agency (SAA) staff,” and build the registration package with its Standards Builder.
Road two: join a program someone else sponsors
For most small contractors this is the easier road. The Labor Department’s quick-start toolkit says a workforce intermediary, such as an industry association or a labor-management organization, “Can serve as sponsor of an apprenticeship program, taking responsibility for the administration of the program (thereby reducing the burden on employers),” and can “Aggregate demand for apprentices, particularly with small- and medium-size employers, that may not have the capacity to develop an apprenticeship program on their own.”
Candidates near you may include a trade association’s program, a joint apprenticeship committee of a union and its contractors, or a community college; the Partner Finder and your state apprenticeship office can tell you which exist for your trade. Before you sign on, ask:
The license hours it counts toward
In licensed trades the apprenticeship often sits inside a state licensing path, and the state’s rule decides whose hours count. Texas electricians are a clear example. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation says that, with certain exemptions, anyone who performs electrical work in the state must be licensed, and that an electrical apprentice “is licensed to perform electrical work under the general supervision of a Master Electrician, Journeyman Electrician, or Residential Wireman.” The journeyman license then takes “the full 8,000 hours” of on-the-job training under the supervision of a master electrician licensed in Texas, with the exam open after 7,000. That experience “must be documented and signed by each supervisor” on the department’s Experience Verification Form.
Texas also registers electrical apprentice training program providers, and a program registered with the U.S. Department of Labor is one of the ways to qualify, with a $95 registration fee. Other states and other trades set their own hours, supervisors and classroom credit, so read your board’s rule before you write a wage ladder around it; Do I Need a Contractor License? shows how to find it. Whatever the state, keep the hours log weekly and signed, because the apprentice will need it years from now.
The GI Bill: more pay for a veteran, a monthly hours report for you
A veteran who qualifies for the GI Bill can use it in an approved apprenticeship. The VA says apprentices typically “enter into a training contract for a set amount of time with an employer or union” and will probably get a salary from that employer or union. The VA’s approval page adds two points that matter to you:
The Labor Department’s toolkit says registered sponsors can be certified under the GI Bill “usually within 30 days.” What the veteran gets under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, at the VA’s rates for August 1, 2026, to July 31, 2027, is a monthly payment based on the Defense Department’s housing allowance for an E-5 with dependents, stepping down as training goes on. The VA prorates it by the share of benefits the veteran is eligible for, reduces it for any month with fewer than 120 hours of training, and pays it after the employer submits the month’s training hours. The shares below are for a veteran with full eligibility:
| Months in training | Share paid |
|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | 100% |
| 7 to 12 | 80% |
| 13 to 18 | 60% |
| 19 to 24 | 40% |
| After 2 years | 20% |
On top of that, up to $83 a month for books and supplies, prorated by the veteran’s eligibility. The toolkit describes the stipend as paid by the VA “in addition to the wages they receive in an apprenticeship.” Say a roofing company advertises an apprentice opening at the same pay as any helper: to a veteran with full Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility, the first six months are worth that wage plus 100% of the housing rate the VA uses, which is a real reason to apply to you rather than to a shop with no approved program.
Before you start
The paperwork for the hire itself, from the I-9 to payroll, is in Hiring Your First Employee.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and vary by state; check with the agency named above or a professional for your situation.