Conducting Outreach and Recruitment

The sponsor will implement measures to ensure that the apprenticeship program’s outreach and recruitment efforts extend to all persons interested in or potentially interested in an apprenticeship without regard to race, sex, ethnicity, or disability. According to the EEO regulations, sponsors of apprenticeship programs must follow two outreach and recruitment obligations:

First, sponsors must implement measures to ensure their outreach and recruitment efforts extend to all potential apprentices regardless of their races, genders, ethnicities, or disabilities. To do so, the sponsor must:

• Develop and update a list of recruitment sources (several examples of which are provided in the regulations)
  • The Universal Outreach Tool is another resource to help sponsors find diverse candidates.
  • Other potential sources of candidates with disabilities can be found on PIA’s Find Candidates with Disabilities page.
• Identify a contact person at each recruitment source
• Provide recruitment sources advanced notice of apprenticeship openings so they can notify and refer candidates; this notification must also include documentation of the sponsor’s equal opportunity pledge.

Second, sponsors that maintain an Affirmative Action Program (AAP) for disability, race, gender, etc. must engage in targeted outreach, recruitment, and retention activities. These activities include:

• Distributing information to community-based organizations, local high schools, local community colleges, local vocational, career, and technical schools, career centers at minority serving institutions, and other groups.
• Advertising openings via electronic media and other appropriate communication channels.
• Cooperating with local school boards and vocational education systems to develop relationships with pre-apprenticeship programs in order to prepare students from underrepresented groups to meet apprenticeship entry standards.
• Establishing agreements to enlist the support of pre-apprenticeship programs, community-based organizations, and/or advocacy organizations in recruiting qualified individuals and in developing pre-apprenticeship programs.

Learn more about Outreach & Recruitment.