Apprenticeship Ready Online Course

IREC's Apprenticeship Ready: Exploring Registered Apprenticeship Career Pathways course is a self-paced online program that prepares students and career seekers to make informed decisions about entering clean energy occupations through Registered Apprenticeship pathways—a federally recognized, earn-while-you-learn training model that combines paid on-the-job learning with technical instruction.

A $49 value, we’re currently offering course registration for free thanks to generous support from the Invest in Our Future Foundation.

To register for free, follow the steps below: 

1. Visit this page: https://cleanenergytraining.org/apprenticeship-ready
2. Click on “Apprenticeship Ready: Exploring Career Pathways” about halfway down the page, and click the green Register button.
3. Select Complete Registration Now. 
4. Enter your discount code.
5. • Students and job seekers: Use discount code "RA-Ready."
   • Workforce organizations and IREC partners: Use "RA-49" to preview the course.
5. Select Apply Discount.
6. Then complete the registration form to access the course.

Note that if you already have an account on our cleanenergytraining.org website, you will need to log in to your account first, then complete the steps above.

Here's what those who take the course will accomplish:

Module 1: Identify Clean Energy Careers

Discover what careers exist in clean energy and energy efficiency, what the work looks like day-to-day, and where they might fit based on their interests, skills, and circumstances.

Module 2: Explore Apprenticeships

Learn what Registered Apprenticeship is, how it differs from other training pathways, why it has endured as a model for thousands of years, the concrete benefits it offers, and whether it's the right match for their goals.

Module 3: Understand Registered Apprenticeship Programs

Understand five essential components that make a program "Registered," how training is structured, what to expect from mentors, how different program types work, and how to evaluate program quality when comparing options.

Module 4: Find Your Entry Point

Navigate how to match yourself to the right occupation, ace the application and interview process, build the soft skills employers look for, identify and overcome barriers with specific resources, and create a personalized action plan with first concrete steps.

The Clean Energy Registered Apprenticeship Playbook

Throughout the course, learners will use the Clean Energy Registered Apprenticeship Playbook—a personal career planning workbook to document their learning, assess skills, identify barriers and solutions, and build a step-by-step action plan tailored to their situation. It's not graded. Learners can keep this document after the course ends, and the work they put into it directly shapes their readiness to apply. By the time the learner completes the course, the Playbook will have become a personalized apprenticeship preparation toolkit—something they can reference during applications, before interviews, and whenever they need to reconnect with their goals.

Earn Your Apprenticeship Ready Badge

When course learners complete all four modules, they earn a digital Apprenticeship Ready badge—a verifiable, portable digital record of the specific skills, knowledge, and career readiness they've built. This isn't just a participation marker. Earners of the digital badge can share it electronically through email or social media and display it on their resume, email signature, job boards, or anywhere across the web. When an employer or apprenticeship program sees it, they'll know the badge holder has done the work to understand how Registered Apprenticeship works, what clean energy and energy efficiency careers demand, and is prepared to pursue an apprenticeship.

Built for Diverse Learners

Whether you're a high school student planning your future, a veteran transitioning to civilian work, a career changer looking for something new, or someone skilled through alternate routes (STARS), this Apprenticeship Ready course will help you find pathways that fit your life.