ApprentEA, an Enrolled Agent Apprenticeship Program

Stop Competing for Talent. Start Developing It.

Taxley partners with tax, law, and accounting firms serving small businesses to build Enrolled Agent talent internally – through structured education and apprenticeship designed for real client work, professional judgment, and long-term firm growth.

of firms struggle to find analytical, problem-solving tax talent (Deloitte)

of small businesses say they need stronger financial and advisory support from their tax professionals (Fed SMB Credit Survey)

of firms report talent shortages restrict growth more than client demand (AICPA)

The Talent Gap Isn’t About Effort. It’s About Structure.

Enrolled Agents hold the nation’s highest federal credential in tax law and have supported families and small businesses for generations. What firms lack today isn’t capable people – it’s a system to intentionally develop and retain that capability inside modern firms. As advisory demands rise and hiring markets tighten, firms need a workforce model built for development, continuity, and scale – not reactive recruiting.

Taxley provides that structure – operating as internal leadership development and compliance-backed apprenticeship infrastructure for firms building long-term professional capability.

Explore importance of Partnership

Helping Firms Develop Quality Talent Your Clients Can Rely On

Taxley partners with tax, law, and accounting firms serving small businesses to strengthen the most critical—and least systematized—part of their organization: how professionals are developed, deployed, and retained over time.

This is not a training program.

It is a workforce development infrastructure that integrates education, apprenticeship, advisory judgment, and compliance into how firms actually operate.

Rather than relying on informal mentoring, inconsistent training, or reactive hiring, Taxley provides firms with a structured system for developing Enrolled Agent capability aligned with real client work, regulatory responsibility, and long-term firm growth.

Firms partner with Taxley to:

Develop internal EA talent intentionally, not reactively
Expand advisory and representation capacity in a controlled, sustainable way
Create consistency in how professionals are trained, supported, and advanced
Stay aligned with evolving small business needs and regulatory demands

Taxley functions as internal leadership development and compliance-backed workforce infrastructure – embedded into how firms build, manage, and advance talent.

The result: not just trained professionals, but prepared ones.

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Built for Firms Who Lead Through Intentional Development

Taxley’s workforce development partnership is designed for firms that view Enrolled Agents as strategic professionals and talent development as a core leadership responsibility – not a transactional staffing exercise. This partnership is built for firms committed to strengthening small businesses through rigorous professional development and the intentional design of their teams and advisory services.

How ApprentEA Works - TRIBA Training, OJT, Taxley Sponsorship

What the Taxley Firm Partnership Provides

A workforce development infrastructure designed to responsibly employ and develop Enrolled Agent talent.

Firm Readiness & Continuity

The foundation that makes apprenticeship and development succeed.

Taxley prepares firm leadership and mentors to support Enrolled Agent development with clear roles, standards, and operational alignment – before apprenticeship begins and as teams scale.

This includes firm onboarding, mentor alignment, competency expectations, and Taxley-managed DOL compliance so development is structured, repeatable, and defensible.

Firms replace ad hoc training with an institutional system that produces consistent outcomes and long-term retention.

ExplorEA™ & Strategic Talent Pipeline

Early clarity for smarter development decisions.

ExplorEA™ provides firms visibility into individuals who have intentionally explored and committed to the Enrolled Agent career path – creating a clearer, lower-risk entry point into apprenticeship.

Rather than guessing who is “ready” or “interested,” firms engage with talent already oriented to EA work, expectations, and professional responsibility.

Reduced misalignment, lower development risk, and a more intentional pathway into apprenticeship.

ApprentEA™ & Custom On-the-Job Training

Firm-based development the market cannot supply.

ApprentEA™ is the nation’s first registered apprenticeship for Enrolled Agents – designed to develop the tax resolution and integrated business advisory skill set small businesses need.

Through the TRIBA™ framework and custom on-the-job training – aligned to each firm’s services and workflows, apprentices develop professional judgment and execution capacity.

Practice-ready Enrolled Agents developed internally – not sourced reactively or trained generically.

Become a firm partner

ApprentEA

The First Registered Apprenticeship Focused on Building Practice-Ready Enrolled Agents

A federally registered pathway that allows firms to develop Enrolled Agent capability inside their organization – with structure, standards, and compliance built in. Participation in ApprentEA occurs through a Taxley firm partnership and is designed to support both firm capability and long-term professional development.

Structure

A two-year apprenticeship embedded into day-to-day firm operations, with custom on-the-job training aligned to your services and workflows.

Result: Capability develops inside the firm, not alongside it.

Standards

Professional judgment cultivated through the TRIBA™ framework – integrating tax resolution, business advocacy, ethics, and decision-making in real-world scenarios.

Result: Enrolled Agents trained to advise, represent, and operate responsibly.

Compliance

Taxley-managed DOL administration and oversight, providing guardrails that protect firms, mentors, and apprentices throughout the apprenticeship lifecycle.

Result: EA talent developed compliantly, confidently, and at scale.

Details on the apprentice experience and curriculum are outlined on the Career Seekers page.

Explore Apprenticeship Details

Founder Message

Leadership Behind the Model

Taxley was built by a practitioner who understood the cost of missing structure.

Founder & CEO Anisha Bailey, EA, MSEL spent nearly two decades working inside complex tax resolution and business advisory matters – where outcomes depended less on memorizing tax law and more on professional judgment, systems thinking, and the clarity to act under pressure.

What became clear over time was this: firms were being asked to deliver higher-level advisory outcomes without any infrastructure designed to develop their associates for that reality.

Taxley exists to solve that problem – by building institutional pathways that develop capability before failure occurs.

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Frequently Asked Questions

An Enrolled Agent is a federally licensed tax professional authorized by the U.S. Department of Treasury to represent taxpayers in all matters before the IRS. Unlike CPAs, who are licensed at the state level and trained broadly in accounting, EAs are trained specifically in tax law, IRS procedure, representation, and taxpayer advocacy – the core areas most firms struggle to hire for.

Where CPAs are designed for financial reporting, auditing, and assurance work, EAs are built for:

IRS problem resolution
Taxpayer representation
Business & personal financial clarity
Compliance interpretation
Business advisory

For firms serving individuals and small businesses, EAs often become the most practical and accessible advisory talent, because they can be trained faster, specialize deeply, and operate directly in the areas where clients need help most.

EAs and CPAs complement each other well, but when it comes to tax law, IRS procedure, taxpayer advocacy and integrated financial management, EAs are the federal standard.

ApprentEA™ is the first-ever registered apprenticeship program for the Enrolled Agent profession. It is a structured, 2-year pathway that allows firms to responsibly employ and develop EA talent inside their organization – under defined standards, supervised experience, and federal compliance.

ApprentEA combines:

288 hours of structured instruction grounded in tax resolution and integrated business advocacy (TRIBA™)
4,000 hours of structured customized on-the-job (OJT) training aligned to a firm’s services and workflows
2 years of mentorship and guided clear progression benchmarks tied to real client work
Taxley-managed Department of Labor registration, documentation, and oversight

Unlike traditional training or informal staff development, ApprentEA is designed to build practice-ready professional capability—not just technical knowledge—while protecting firms through clear structure, standards, and compliance.

Participation in ApprentEA occurs through a Taxley firm partnership and is designed to serve both firm needs and long-term professional development.

No. Taxley does not place talent. We provide the infrastructure firms use to responsibly employ and develop Enrolled Agent apprentices within their own teams.

Our firm partners will have access to our talent pipeline of individuals who’ve completed the ExplorEA program and expressed interest in pursuing the Enrolled Agent career path and ApprentEA professional development.

Firm Partners access pre-screened candidates from the ExplorEA™ network.

Every candidate visible to partners has already demonstrated EA career commitment, professionalism, and alignment with the advisory-forward nature of the work – dramatically reducing recruiting time and risk.

Yes. Firms partner with Taxley because they intend to employ and develop Enrolled Agent apprentices through ApprentEA. Partnership prepares firms for apprenticeship and supports success throughout its process.

ApprentEA is ideal for firms that:

Value EA capability as a long-term strategic asset
Have experienced Sr. staff available for OJT mentorship
Are intentional about preventing churn and burnout
Desire structured, DOL-backed training pathways
Offer tax resolution & business advisory services
Want to simplify recruiting and reduce turnover
Are committed to developing & mentoring future EAs
Need predictable recruiting and structured professional development

If you are committed to building the next generation of advisory-capable EAs, Taxley partnership is for you.

On-the-job training (OJT) is customized to your firm’s services, workflows, and client base while maintaining federal apprenticeship standards. The TRIBA curriculum is not customizable.

ApprentEA is not continuing education. It is a DOL registered apprenticeship designed to develop full professional capability – combining instruction, supervised experience, and measured progression over time.

Each firm designates at least one mentor/supervisor who oversees apprentice work and engages in structured development support. Taxley provides supervisor coaching and handles competency progression tracking, ensuring the employer is never left to “figure out development” alone.

One mentor can oversee up to three apprentices, this ensures the mentor is able to properly train the apprentice(s) effectively.

Yes. Firms can begin with one apprentice and add more at any time during the open enrollment window. Each new apprentice receives a custom OJT plan and is formally registered with the U.S. Department of Labor. The system is built to scale as your firm grows.

Firms must allow apprentices to attend live sessions – even if during work hours. Live instruction hours are held in 12-week sessions: typically May – July and Sept – Nov, Tues – Thurs from 4:30 – 6:30pm EST.

Depending on time zone and scheduling norms, this may occur during the late afternoon or early evening. Many firms treat this as professional development time or an unpaid extended break time.

Yes. Many firms join specifically to prepare for hiring.

Partnership ensures your workflows, OJT plans, supervisory structure, and readiness foundations are in place before you bring in talent – eliminating costly mis-hires and failed onboarding.

Absolutely. ApprentEA expands your operational strength by developing professionals who can support advisory and compliance work with accuracy, clarity, and increasing independence – reducing partner strain and elevating client outcomes.

Potentially. Eligibility varies by state and workforce board. During your Firm Evaluation, we’ll identify whether your firm qualifies for available funding or incentive programs.

No. Taxley is the official program sponsor and manages all DOL-related reporting, documentation, registration, progression benchmarks, and compliance requirements on your behalf.

ApprentEA™ includes a risk-managed early withdrawal window and pre-enrollment assessment.

If an apprentice is not a fit during the initial phase, we guide the firm through a structured step-down process without long-term obligation.

Next Steps

Request Alignment meeting

Partnership begins with a brief meeting to ensure alignment and clarify expectations.

Once aligned, you’ll be invited to register and move forward with onboarding.

Engage in partnership

Once onboarded, we will begin with the firm readiness process and provide access to the ExplorEA talent pipeline.