The national BEST Apprenticeship Program is the youth development practitioner apprenticeship (YDPA) program implemented by local BEST intermediary organizations in partnership with the National Training Institute for Community Youth Work (NTI).
BEST Apprenticeship Programs:
- Provide apprentice youth workers with 3,800 hours of supervised on-the-job training based on youth development principles.
- Require approximately 350 hours of related coursework at higher education institutions.
- Provide apprentices with a Department of Labor certificate, signaling their readiness and qualifications to work directly with young people in youth programs (upon completion of the two-year program).
BEST Apprenticeship programs promote apprentices’ development of a foundational level of proficiency in core competency areas for the youth work profession. BEST Apprenticeship Programs are rigorous because they require apprentices to systematically develop attitudes, knowledge, abilities, skills, and work experience through carefully designed on-the-job training activities that are integrated into their work schedules and become more complex over time.
Journeyworkers, or skilled workers, monitor and evaluate apprentices’ progress according to objective criteria and provide ongoing coaching and supervision. BEST Apprenticeship Programs also use common resources—such as the On-the-Job Training Guide for BEST Apprentices and Leader’s Guide for BEST Journeyworkers.
BEST intermediary organizations register BEST Apprenticeship Programs with their state registration agencies, recruit participants, coordinate the delivery of on-the-job training with employers (youth-serving organizations) and related instruction with colleges, monitor program quality and impact, and provide technical assistance to local participants.
BEST Apprenticeship Programs are currently being implemented in eight cities, including: Chicago (IL); Hampton/Newport News (VA); Kansas City (MO); New Haven (CT); New York City (NY); Philadelphia (PA); Springfield (MA); and Washington (DC).
The BEST Apprenticeship Program was developed collaboratively by leaders from the following organizations, with funding and technical assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor: Alternatives, Inc. (Hampton, VA); Partners for a Healthier Community (Springfield, MA); YouthNet of Greater Kansas City (Kansas City, MO); Youth Development Institute of the Fund for the City of New York (New York City, NY); and the National Training Institute for Community Youth Work at the Academy for Educational Development (Washington, DC).
