Published 4/4/2019

Startup Develops Software Aimed at Streamlining Apprenticeship Management

Formed while at the University of Vermont, ApprentiScope was developed by William Lippolis and Shawn Kotch, who worked in collaboration with Dr. Gerry Ghazi, who consults for the U.S. Department of Labor.

Workforce Development

Edited by: MMS Editorial Team

ApprentiScope has announced a solution designed to streamline the apprenticeship management process. By automating and centralizing required state forms, spreadsheets, timesheets and journal entries, and pre-populating certain data throughout the paperwork, formal apprenticeship programs become easier to access and manage for both apprentice and employer. The software is said to reduce onboarding time from an average of two weeks to a matter of minutes.

Apprenticeships, not to be confused with internships, are on-the-job learning programs and are regulated by state and federal departments of labor. The company says that these programs are critical to the scalability of the industry and are a key component in attracting and training their workforce. However, apprenticeships require labor-intensive paperwork to complete for both employers and apprentices when it comes to onboarding as well as regular time tracking, thus leaving a wide margin for error, redundancy and inefficiency.

The software is currently offered at $20 per user per month.

“We recognized how severely underserved the apprenticeship workforce was among traditional vocational industries and, at the same time, how critical these programs are to companies and individuals looking to learn skills and earn a wage outside of traditional higher education institutions,” says William Lippolis, co-founder and CEO of ApprentiScope. “It didn’t take long to realize the immediate and tangible benefits that could result from simply streamlining and automating key aspects of apprenticeship programs.”

In 2018, there were 585,000 active apprentices in the United States, an increase of 56 percent from five years earlier.

Formed while at the University of Vermont (UVM), ApprentiScope was developed by William Lippolis and Shawn Kotch, who worked in collaboration with Dr. Gerry Ghazi, president of the Institute of American Apprenticeships at Vermont HiTec (IAA) and expert consultant for the U.S. Department of Labor, to ensure and validate ApprentiScope’s functionality and reliability.

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