More and more companies are turning to apprenticeships as a solution to their recruitment woes. Apprenticeships at U.S. companies have doubled over the past decade, according to the Labor Department, and companies are increasingly seeing it as a solution in an environment where every job seeker has two job openings.
“ companies are tapping into a talent market they’ve never been in,” said Teneika Askew, a data scientist with a massive following on social media. Her posts provide advice and job openings to a large audience of women and people of color seeking to enter the tech industry. Askew said her posts on apprenticeships generated particularly high levels of engagement, noting that offering apprenticeships allows companies to “bring in talent from different perspectives and backgrounds, potentially increasing organizational and product diversity.”
If you’re wondering what the difference is between an apprenticeship and a practicum, The Department of Labour provides a straightforward definition: “Apprenticeships combine paid on-the-job training with classroom instruction. , to prepare workers for high-skilled occupations.” Apprenticeships seem like a smart move as a recruiting strategy. According to the Department of Labor, 93 percent of apprentices continue to work after completing their apprenticeships. Compared to the retention rate of corporate interns, it is only about 67% after one year.
Apprenticeships provide a way to hire team members who demonstrate the ability to learn the specific skills you are seeking, even if they don’t already. While they’re most common in the tech industry — more than half of apprenticeships last year were electricians, carpenters or plumbers — apprenticeships are growing in a range of other jobs, from nursing to restaurant management and pharmacy, and even in technical fields such as software engineering Position. Apprenticeships aren’t just for career-opening positions for those fresh out of high school or college; they can also be a mid-career option for those who have a working record but need some training to become fully productive members of a team.
Opportunities to offer apprenticeships will only grow: The Biden administration has taken several actions to fund the growth of apprenticeships, and their popularity is evident in job listings.
If you’re trying to figure out if an apprenticeship is right for developing your team, you can look for apprenticeships in companies that compete with you or that you’re trying to emulate, see what do they offer. Amazon has technical apprenticeships in cloud computing; Citibank has apprenticeships in multiple positions. Your industry may already have a recognised apprenticeship programme which will provide you with an operational framework. There is also a DoL page for employers on starting an apprenticeship program.
