Apprenticeship Programs: Learn While You Earn
Apprenticeship is an industry-driven, high-quality career pathway
where employers can develop and prepare their future workforce,
and individuals can obtain paid work experience, classroom instruction,
and a portable, nationally-recognized credential.
What is an apprenticeship?
An apprenticeship is for motivated people of all ages to earn wages while they learn a highly skilled profession, often leading to a career after completion.
Components of a Registered Apprenticeship
- Business Involvement
- The apprenticeship program is industry driven. Employers build a program that meets their needs
- Structured On-The-Job Training
- Apprentices receive on-the-job training from an experienced mentor.
- On-the-job training is a minimum of 1 year or 2,000 hours
- Related Instruction
- On-the-job training is combined with technical education at RLC.
- Rewards for Skill Gains
- Apprentices receive an increase in wages as they gain higher levels of skills
- National Occupational Credential
- Registered Apprenticeship programs result in a nationally-recognized credential
Flexible Learning Models to Ensure What Works Best
Who can become an apprentice?
Students can be:
- Career Changers
- Veterans
- Unemployed
- Under-employed
- Recent high school or G.E.D. graduates
- Current employees to upskill
Look through our photos of apprenticeships at Rend Lake
Headlines
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RLC earns national recognition for its trade programs
INA, Ill. (Oct. 5, 2020) — Rend Lake College’s trade programs rate among the best in the nation, according to a recent ranking from education website Learn.org. Learn.org recently published its list of the 50 Best Trade Schools Programs for the 2020-21 school year and RLC landed in the No. 18 spot. The website’s editorial team considered hundreds of universities across the country and selected... -
Rend Lake College chosen for Apprenticeship Expansion Grant
INA, Ill. (Aug. 24, 2020) — Rend Lake College and partners, Lake Land College in Mattoon, Ill. and Illinois Eastern Community Colleges in Olney, Ill., have been chosen as a recipient of the 2019-2020 Apprenticeship Expansion Grant by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. As a recipient, RLC will serve as an Apprenticeship Intermediary and will receive $198,795 to expand... -
Apprenticeship programs showcased at RLC
INA, Ill. (Feb. 26, 2020) — Students and businesses from around the region got a firsthand look at how apprenticeships benefit the local workforce Wednesday at Rend Lake College. RLC hosted Apprenticeship Works! — a program that showcased how local businesses have worked with the college to give students on-the-job training that will benefit them during their future careers. Current students...
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Resources
Illinois WorkNet IDES ApprenticeshipUSA DOL
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