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Employer Pathway

Becoming an Employer

  1. Let us know you’re interested in partnering with BTC by filling out a short form here.
  2. Complete and return a current W-9 form to Lake Michigan College. This will generate an employer account for you within our system.
  3. Build an Appendix A for each occupation in which you plan to offer apprenticeships.
  4. Interview potential apprentices.
  5. Hire an apprentice!
  6. Open a RAPIDS (Registered Apprenticeship Partners Information Database System) account. This will need to be completed once an apprentice has finished all their required courses.

Working with students

  1. Provide Lake Michigan College with the name and date of birth of the apprentice. In order to qualify, the apprentice must be a student Lake Michigan College. If they haven’t already, have the student apply here: lakemichigancollege.edu/admissions
  2. Lake Michigan College will provide employers with partially completed FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) forms to complete. Please sign and return them; this allows Lake Michigan College to share academic information with the employers. The student will also need to complete/verify parts of these forms involving their personal information.
  3. At the end of each semester, Lake Michigan College will provide employers with the final grades for each apprentice. Please note that a student must pass with a C-grade or better in order to fulfill the apprenticeship requirements.

Planning your Semester

  1. Lake Michigan College will work with the employers to create an RTI (Related Training and Instruction) check sheet based on the type of apprentice they have. This will help provide a semester-by-semester plan for completion.
  2. Lake Michigan College will email employers a registration form for the upcoming semester containing the list of classes, days and times the courses will meet (including the starting date), and CRNs (Course Registration Numbers).
  3. Lake Michigan College will email employers a 3rd party pay-form to be signed and returned. The employer’s coverage is determined by the selection of tuition, books, and/or supplies as indicated on the form. If books are selected on the form, they will be forwarded to the bookstore so that apprentices can pick up their course materials by the beginning of the semester.
  4. Once the apprentice has finished their last class, employers will receive an RTI completion acknowledgement from Lake Michigan College.