Partnerships are the key to building successful apprenticeship programs
By Michele Chang
Across the country, we continue to see increasing attention on apprenticeships as a strategy for strengthening America’s workforce, and it’s with good reason when you consider the impact and results apprenticeships have proven to have for both employers and workers.
Notably, 91 percent of apprentices secure employment after completing their program. Most of them graduate with a starting salary of more than $51,000 annually, and no student debt. And, for employers, data shows that for every dollar spent on apprenticeships, they get back $1.47 in increased productivity, reduced waste and greater innovation.
Among Hope Street Group’s workforce networks, the results show significant results, as well. For example, Mercy Health West Michigan, a regional health ministry of Trinity Health, has seen first-year turnover rate drop from 25.3 percent to 19.6 percent, along with increased workforce diversity, with non-white hires increasing from 18.4 percent to 38 percent.
Nationwide, in 2016 there were more 21,000 registered apprenticeship programs with 505,000 apprentices, an increase of nearly 100,000 from just four years before. Among workforce leaders, this is viewed as a highly positive trend, but one that needs to accelerate if we’re going to fully meet the needs of the employment and skills landscape over the next decade. That said, as we urge more employers to adopt apprenticeship models, it’s important to consider whether they are right for your organization and what it takes to build a successful program.
Successful Apprenticeship Models
An apprenticeship program is an employer-driven model that combines on-the-job learning with related classroom instruction that increases an apprentice’s skill level and wages. They are a win-win for employers and individuals. For employers, apprenticeship programs help them successfully recruit, train and retain a highly-skilled workforce and for individuals, it allows them to earn a living wage while increasing their skills.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), apprenticeships consist of five core components:
1) Direct business involvement
2) On-the-job training
3) Related instruction
4) Rewards for skills gains
5) Completion resulting in a national occupation credential
Hope Street Group has worked with partners on apprenticeship programs across several key industry sectors, including retail, health care and manufacturing. We continue to find that successful apprenticeship programs are born from collaboration among partners. By working together, partners can identify resources necessary to design the apprenticeship program that meets the unique needs of employers and develop tailored recruitment strategies within their communities.
Additionally, by engaging key stakeholders within their community, each partner can fulfill a critical role. Those roles include business partners/employers; workforce intermediaries; community colleges; community-based organizations/not-for-profits/public workforce system; and apprenticeship system (State Office of Apprenticeships).
Getting Started
Over the last two weeks, Hope Street Group has partnered with the Ready To Work Business Collaborative on a series of webinars exploring the benefits of apprenticeships, which also included representatives from the Urban Institute, Humanity 2.0, Wells Fargo and Daetwyler. During these webinars, we identified a number of organizations, both employers and training providers, looking to start apprenticeship programs, but struggling to figure out where to start.
It’s worth noting that this can be particularly daunting for a small or medium-size business with limited resources, but as we discussed in the webinars there are readily available resources and strategies for overcoming challenges to create successful apprenticeship programs. These include:
· DOL’s Quick Start Toolkit: Utilize the numerous resources available through both DOL and your state government on apprenticeship programs, such as DOL’s Quick-Start Toolkit, created to help organizations start an apprenticeship program.
· Registered Apprenticeship Frameworks: In cooperation with the DOL, the Urban Institute and its partners have been building national, competency-based frameworks for Registered Apprenticeships in a wide array of occupations. These frameworks provide a readymade framework for a variety of occupations and apprenticeships that employers, educators, workforce agencies and community-based organizations can use to fast-track the development of a registered apprenticeship.
· Leverage Community Colleges: Reach out to your local community college — they often serve as a local aggregator of in-demand of occupations.
· Engage Other Potential Partners: There are numerous organizations, from employers, workforce boards, not-for-profits to community-based organizations, who have experience building apprenticeship programs and are willing to work together.
If you or your organization is looking for additional resources or support to start an apprenticeship program, we are eager to hear from you and assist. Please contact us at syncoursignals@hopestreetgroup.org.
Michele Chang is Vice President, Programs and Services at Hope Street Group.
