You want to run a registered apprenticeship. You also want veterans in it. Here is a lever most employers miss. A veteran apprentice can draw a tax-free monthly GI Bill check. That money stacks on top of the wage you pay them. That money comes from the VA, not from your payroll. It can mean the difference between a veteran joining your program or passing on it.

But there is a catch. The veteran cannot use the GI Bill in your program until your program is approved. Approval runs through your State Approving Agency, or SAA. Miss that step and the benefit does not exist for your apprentices.

This guide walks an employer through the whole thing. What the GI Bill pays a veteran apprentice. How the SAA approval process works. What forms you file and what makes it go fast. We are talking registered apprenticeship only here. If you run a non-registered on-the-job training program, the VA has a separate path for that covered in our VA on-the-job training and GI Bill approval guide.

What is a registered apprenticeship, and why does it matter for the GI Bill?

A registered apprenticeship is a training program registered with the U.S. Department of Labor or a state apprenticeship agency. The apprentice earns a wage from day one. They learn the trade on the job. The wage rises as their skills rise. There is also classroom or related instruction built in.

The word "registered" carries weight here. The U.S. Department of Labor registers these programs and holds them to set standards. That federal stamp is what unlocks the fast lane for GI Bill approval. A loose, made-up training plan does not qualify. A DOL-registered program does.

For an employer, the math is simple. You were going to pay the apprentice a wage anyway. Now the VA layers a housing check on top of that wage for any veteran using the GI Bill. The veteran takes home more. You spend the same. Your offer just got stronger without costing you a dollar more.

How does the GI Bill pay a veteran apprentice?

A veteran in your program keeps earning the apprentice wage you set. The GI Bill does not replace that wage. It adds to it. A veteran using the Post-9/11 GI Bill gets a monthly housing allowance and a small books stipend on top of what you pay.

The housing allowance is tax-free. It is based on the full Basic Allowance for Housing, or BAH, rate. But it does not stay at full rate the whole time. It steps down as the apprentice moves through training. The idea is that the wage goes up as the veteran gets better, so the GI Bill support tapers off.

Here is the step-down schedule for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, straight from the VA benefit rates page.

There is also a books and supplies stipend. For an apprenticeship, the VA pays up to $83 a month for that, prorated by the veteran's GI Bill eligibility level. That amount is separate from the housing step-down and does not shrink as training goes on. Rates change, so always point a veteran to the VA for the current number. The exact dollar figure depends on the local BAH rate and the veteran's eligibility level.

One thing to make clear with your apprentices. The veteran earns this on top of your wage. It is not your money and you do not report it. The VA pays the veteran directly. Your job is to get the program approved and to certify the veteran's hours.

What is the State Approving Agency, and why do you need it?

The State Approving Agency is the body in your state that approves training programs for GI Bill use. The VA does not approve your program. The SAA does. No SAA approval, no GI Bill benefit for your apprentices. Full stop.

Every state has one. Some sit inside the state workforce agency. Some sit inside the state department of veterans affairs or education. The VA funds them under a contract to do this review work. They check that your program is legitimate. The standards have to be real, and the training has to be worth a veteran's benefit.

This is the step employers skip. They build a great apprenticeship, hire veterans, and never file for approval. Then they wonder why the GI Bill angle is not pulling candidates. The benefit only exists once your SAA signs off.

How does an employer get a registered apprenticeship approved for the GI Bill?

The good news for registered programs is the path is short. The VA gives registered apprenticeship sponsors and employers a streamlined process. The Department of Labor says registered apprenticeship sponsors get a streamlined GI Bill certification, typically within about 30 days. That is fast for a government process.

The core document is VA Form 22-8865, the Employer's Application to Provide Job Training. You file one for your program. Along with it, you send your DOL-approved apprenticeship standards and a signed employer participation agreement. You send that package to the SAA for each state where you have a training site.

Whoever signs the form has to have real authority. The signer must be able to set policy at the facility and must be able to commit the company to repaying funds if a payment error turns up later. So this is not a task for a junior coordinator. It needs someone who can bind the company.

If you run the program across more than one state, there is a faster route. Under the VALOR Act, a national-standards registered apprenticeship can get approved by a single SAA instead of one in every state. The headquarters state's SAA becomes the approval authority everywhere your program runs. This only applies to sponsors with national program standards approved by DOL's Office of Apprenticeship. It cuts a lot of paperwork for multi-site employers.

What does the employer actually have to do once approved?

Approval is the front-loaded work. After that, your job is light but real. You certify each veteran apprentice's hours to the VA every month. That triggers their housing payment. If a veteran is not in the seat, you do not certify, and the VA does not pay. The system runs on accurate hours.

You also keep training records the SAA can review. Registered apprenticeship already requires you to track wage progression and related instruction. So this is mostly recordkeeping you are doing anyway. The added piece is the GI Bill certification.

One more thing worth saying plainly. The GI Bill benefit belongs to the veteran. You are not deciding who gets it or how much. The VA and the veteran's own eligibility handle that. You provide an approved program and honest hour reporting. That is the deal.

How does the GI Bill change your recruiting pitch to veterans?

Think about it from the veteran's side. They are weighing your apprenticeship against a regular job. The regular job might pay more on paper at the start. But your approved apprenticeship pays the wage plus a tax-free housing check from the VA. For the first six months that check is the full BAH rate. That is real money, often hundreds of dollars a month or more depending on the local rate.

That is your edge. A veteran on the fence sees that combination clearly. They earn a wage, learn a trade, and bank tax-free GI Bill housing money. Few employers put that combination in front of them. The ones who do stand out.

To win that veteran, you still have to find them and read their background right. A registered apprenticeship rewards people who already work well in structured, hands-on training. That describes a lot of veterans. Military skills map cleanly onto trades and technical roles, but you have to read the resume to see it. If you are building this kind of program, our guides on recruiting veterans for skilled trades and field operations and hiring veterans for manufacturing roles show how to spot the right fit.

This GI Bill angle also stacks with other moves. For the business case behind apprenticeship in general, see our piece on apprenticeship pathways for veterans. And the GI Bill is not the only incentive in play. Look at veteran hiring incentives beyond WOTC to see what else you can layer on.

Registered apprenticeship versus VA on-the-job training: which is this?

This guide is about registered apprenticeship. There is a related path called VA on-the-job training, or OJT. Both let a veteran draw GI Bill money while they earn a wage. Both run through the SAA. But they are not the same program.

Registered apprenticeship is formally registered with DOL. It follows set standards with defined wage progression and related instruction. VA OJT covers structured on-the-job training that is not a registered apprenticeship. Think of a new hire learning a role under a defined training plan. The approval forms and the funding mechanism are close cousins, but the structure and the standards differ.

If your training is DOL-registered, you are in the apprenticeship lane covered here. If it is structured job training that is not registered, you want the OJT path instead. We cover that separately. For now, the takeaway is the same. Get the SAA approval, and your veterans can use the GI Bill in your program.

What is the cost to the employer, really?

This is the part that surprises people. The direct cost of getting GI Bill approval is mostly your time. The form is free. The SAA review is funded by the VA. There is no fee to the employer to get a program approved.

The real cost is running a quality registered apprenticeship, which you were already going to pay for. Apprentice wages. A mentor's time. Recordkeeping. Related instruction. Those are program costs, not GI Bill costs. The GI Bill approval just adds a benefit your veterans can use, at no added charge to you.

Compare that to what you spend on turnover. Apprenticeships are known for strong retention because people who train into a role tend to stay in it. A veteran who is banking GI Bill money in your program has another reason to stay through completion. The approval work is a one-time lift. The retention payoff repeats.

Where do you find the veteran apprentices to fill the program?

Approval gets you the benefit. You still need the candidates. This is where most midsize employers stall. They set up a great program and then struggle to find veterans who fit it.

That is the gap Best Military Resume fills. Our platform has over 1,000 new veteran profiles added every month, with more than 60,000 resumes built. These are transitioning service members and veterans actively looking for their next role, many of them drawn to exactly the kind of earn-while-you-learn path a registered apprenticeship offers.

Pairing your GI-Bill-approved apprenticeship with a steady source of veteran candidates is the whole play. The approval makes your offer pay more. The pipeline keeps the seats full. Run both and your program does not sit half-empty. To get in front of veterans who want this kind of structured trade or technical role, reach out to access BMR's veteran talent pool.

For the wider view of how to build a steady candidate flow, our guide on using transition programs as a sourcing channel shows how apprenticeship fits alongside SkillBridge and other paths feeding veterans into your roles.

Get the approval, then fill the seats

The GI Bill apprenticeship benefit is one of the cleanest tools an employer has for attracting veterans. It pays your apprentices more without touching your budget. The VA carries the cost. You carry the program.

The work is front-loaded and short. Register the apprenticeship with DOL. File VA Form 22-8865 with your SAA, with your standards and participation agreement. Get the roughly 30-day approval. Then certify hours as your veterans train. If you run in multiple states, the VALOR Act lets one SAA approve the whole thing.

Do that, and you have a program that pays a wage, teaches a trade, and stacks tax-free GI Bill housing money on top. The last piece is people. When you are ready to put your program in front of veterans who want it, connect with BMR to reach our veteran talent pool.