Association House Expands Workforce Pathways with Pre-Apprenticeship Model

Association House culinary students staff a catering event at LCLC Chicago.

At Association House of Chicago, workforce training has always been about more than skill-building— it’s about access, opportunity, and long-term careers. This year, two of our flagship workforce programs are taking an important next step to better support participants and meet industry needs.

Both the Clean Energy Jobs Program and Association House Kitchen Culinary Program are now pre-apprenticeship programs, designed to prepare participants for placement into Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) or to move directly into employment.

Why the shift?

In many skilled trades — especially clean energy fields like solar installation, HVAC, and weatherization — workers are required to complete a significant number of hours in a Registered Apprenticeship Program before becoming fully qualified. These programs offer paid, on-the-job training and industry credentials, but they can be difficult to access without prior experience.

That’s where our pre-apprenticeships come in.

Association House’s programs provide participants with the hands-on training, foundational skills, and workplace readiness needed to successfully enter RAPs — or step directly into jobs when opportunities arise.

Importantly, this shift reflects what these programs have always done: help people break into high-demand fields by removing barriers to entry and building real pathways to sustainable careers.

Core Construction participants complete a hands-on capstone project together before graduating.

What this means for participants:

Participants in both programs will continue to receive high-quality training, now with an even clearer connection to next steps after graduation.

• Clean Energy Jobs participants will benefit from expanded training, including a longer solar curriculum, to maximize readiness for apprenticeships and employment in Chicago’s growing clean energy sector.

• Association House Kitchen participants will gain valuable pre-apprenticeship experience that supports placement into culinary RAPs or immediate roles in restaurants, catering kitchens, and other professional food-service environments.

  
  

Both programs continue to offer stipends and supportive services to qualified participants, helping ensure that financial barriers don’t stand in the way of success.

For community partners and employers, this transition strengthens the talent pipeline by aligning training more closely with workforce standards. And for participants, it means clearer pathways, stronger credentials, and greater access to long-term employment.

Learn more or apply today!

• Association House Kitchen: associationhouse.org/kitchen

• Clean Energy Jobs Program: associationhouse.org/cleanenergyjobs