An apprenticeship program is a tried and tested method for securing, training and developing skilled employees. The US is failing to take advantage though, and lags behind many other countries.
For instance, England started nearly 400,00 more apprenticeships in 2012 than the US, despite being nearly 6 times smaller. In Switzerland, nearly ¾ of younger workers join the workforce via an apprenticeship.
It’s not that we lack the infrastructure to support apprenticeships. There’s a system run by the Department of Labor that allows businesses to register their apprenticeship formally. Apprentices can then earn a nationally recognised certificate after they complete their apprenticeship, which in turn increases their own employment prospects.
The US government is committed to growing our apprenticeship economy, and yet we’re still lagging behind other countries.
In large part, this is due to a lack of buy-in at senior decision maker level. Business and HR leaders here in the US aren’t familiar with the apprenticeship system. We don’t understand why an apprenticeship program is such a good idea. It’s simply not the way we do things.
That needs to change, because the business benefits of an apprenticeship program are myriad. From cost savings to skills building, an apprenticeship program can make your business leaner, more competitive and more profitable. Did you know that you can track your talent pool from apprenticeship to full-time with our online recruiting system? Recruiteze is free and there’s no obligation. Try Recruiteze today.
Here are the top 5 reasons your business needs an apprenticeship program.
Save Money
The two magic words: cost savings. Although an apprenticeship program will require an initial cost outlay to set up, it’ll pay back dividends. Nearly 60% of employers find hiring apprentices is more cost-effective than hiring pre-skilled staff.
The first reason for this is obvious. Apprentices require a lower salary investment than skilled employees would, so your payroll costs will be notably lower.
Secondly, you’ll likely see a knock-on effect on your training investment. We’ve written before about the importance of proper investment in training, and this is becoming an increasingly large cost for most businesses. Another way to save money hiring is by using our free online recruiting system. Keep reading to see how Recruiteze can help.
An apprenticeship program might seem like an additional cost, but you’ll often receive additional funding if you invest in apprentices. The Department of Labor make billions of dollars available in grants to encourage apprenticeship programs. This offers an opportunity to build your training capacity without the cost outlay.
In the most basic terms, your cost input into training stays the same but your value output, in the form of trained employees, increases. What’s not to love?
Thirdly, an apprenticeship program offers another hidden cost saving: recruitment costs.
It generally costs more to hire experienced staff than to hire apprentices. The talent pool becomes smaller and increasingly niche as your needs become more specific, and your interview process becomes longer and more convoluted. The more apprentices you hire instead of skilled employees, the more you’ll save in recruitment costs.
Tackle Skill Shortages
Another topic we’ve talked about before, skill shortages are the bane of most HR professionals’ lives. The US is in the middle of a skills crisis. The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a shortfall of 10 million skilled workers by 2020 in the manufacturing industry alone, with millions more across every sector.
The skills shortage is one of our greatest challenges as HR professionals, so any potential solution should not be sniffed at. Apprenticeship programs offer such a solution, allowing businesses to train the talent they need instead of hiring in.
Nearly 85% of employers who have a proactive apprenticeship program say they rely on that program to provide a skilled workforce for the future.
Apprenticeships can be tailored to specific job roles, so they’re completely flexible to the needs of your business. Digital shortage? Fine. IT shortage? Also fine. You can create training that is completely bespoke depending on what your business needs on a case-by-case basis.
Apprenticeship programs can also be a valuable way of upskilling existing employees, to adapt to the changing needs of your business. We’ve talked before about the challenges of the aging workforce and the need for evolution: apprenticeship programs make this possible.
Apprenticeship programs also allow businesses to take full advantage of a multi-generational workforce. Don’t relegate ‘out of date’ older workers to the rubbish dump. Instead, these valuable employees can be retrained. In so doing, you can leverage the abilities and experience they have, and facilitate greater cross-generational skills transfer too.
Reduce Staff Turnover
