Registered apprenticeship model pitched as workforce solution for recycling and clean-tech jobs

The Massachusetts Division of Apprentice Standards presented registered apprenticeship as an employer-centered model to recruit, train and retain workers for recycling and other green-technology occupations.

Dennis Collins, who represents the division, said registered apprenticeship takes the long-standing trades model and applies it to a broader set of occupations. He described apprentices as full-time W-2 employees who receive mentored on-the-job training combined with classroom instruction and progressive wage increases tied to skill attainment. "Invest in an employee who invests in you," Collins recalled quoting an apprentice panelist to…