Sponsors and Employers
Your sponsor is the organization that commits to ensuring you receive high-quality on-the-job instruction and progress in your apprenticeship education program.
- You enter into an Apprenticeship Education Agreement with the sponsor, registered with Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AIT).
- The sponsor helps you track and report your on-the-job hours to AIT for credit by completing and signing off on your competence portfolio.
Your employer is the person or company who hires you and pays you for your work.
- Your employer provides mentorship (through a certified journeyperson) so you can learn on the job.
In most cases, the employer and sponsor are the same organization, but not always.
- For example, a union could sponsor you and send you out to different job sites for work experience. In that case, the union is your sponsor, and the employer is the person(s) you are working for. You could have multiple employers while in an agreement with a single sponsor.
