Articles

| November, 2019 | By Nicholas Wyman, CEO IWSI America |

There’s a model for success in life, right? You graduate from high school, go to college, get your degree, and find a great job using your newly acquired knowledge and skills. Cue happily ever after.

But wait a second. That scenario doesn’t seem like real life. Looking around, we see something different. We see people who can’t afford the escalating cost of a bachelor’s degree, or who can afford it only by incurring debt that will take years to repay. We see people who can’t get a job after they graduate, because there’s a mismatch between what they’ve learned in school and what employers require in the workplace. We see people changing careers often, and needing to acquire new skills.

Something must be wrong with our model. It’s definitely time for a new one.
And luckily, we have one right in front of us – one that’s worked for years in other prosperous economies and is now taking off in the U.S.: modern apprenticeship.

I say “modern” because when most people think of apprenticeships they imagine construction or skilled trades such as plumber or electrician. Yes, apprenticeships are common in those fields, and yes, they give you solid skills that can lead to a well-paying job. But modern apprenticeships encompass many more fields, including finance, healthcare, hospitality, green science and the tech sector. And employers who sponsor modern apprenticeships are often looking for a diversified workforce, including people who haven’t previously considered apprenticeship as a career path.

Let’s think about how apprenticeship can change the typical route from high school to college. I talked to one high-achieving student who did just that. With an outstanding GPA and high achievement test scores, Steve Blevins was on track for college. But that’s not what he wanted to do. Steve had always been interested in working with his hands, so while still in high school, he got a part-time job at Atlas.

After graduation, the company sponsored him in an apprenticeship program with the National Tooling and Machining Association.

To complete his three-year apprenticeship, Steve took courses in trigonometry, blueprint reading, shop math and programming, and other subjects relevant to his job requirements – 576 hours of classroom learning in all. He also received 8000 hours of on-the-job training. At the end, he had a nationally recognized credential, 50 credits toward an associate’s degree, and valuable work experience that included the “soft” skills – decision-making, collaboration, critical thinking – necessary for success in any workplace.

Transferable credentials and skills, a well-paid job and no student debt in three years – Steve’s story shows that modern apprenticeship is a viable path for any high school student who wants to get a head start in the workplace.

Apprenticeships also work well for people who want a change of career. Consider two young men in the Nike apprenticeship program: Hector Avalos and Victor Renderos. Each was engaged in employment or education before they started their apprenticeship – Hector working at an Amazon fulfillment center and Victor taking courses in early childhood education at a local community college — but both felt they needed a change.

After completing a pre-apprenticeship training course in coding, the two moved on to full apprenticeships as junior web developers at EasyKicks with Nike, where they’re thriving. Hector feels the apprenticeship has given him a career direction he was previously lacking. In particular, the mentoring component has opened him up to new possibilities and new ways of thinking. Says Hector, “I am learning to think outside the box, stretch my imagination, and collaborate to reach outcomes. At school, there was only one solution to every problem. Not here. This is super awesome.”

Victor has a similar story. The apprenticeship is giving him solid skills in a field he wasn’t sure he could master, as well as his first experience in a professional workplace. All of this while being paid.

These are only three of the many people who’ve gained career focus, technical skills and well-paying work through apprenticeships. Apprenticeships can work for people at any age, and any career stage. All that’s needed is a desire to advance and a commitment to learning new skills.

A collection of practical articles from the USA, Australia and the UK, co-edited by IWSI America, Urban Institute and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

The collected chapters and vignettes address questions for businesses of all sizes, community-based organizations, and schools looking for a way to build strong pipelines of skilled labor, stimulate economies in struggling regions, provide options for adults seeking career changes, and stimulate engagement for students filled with curiosity about the promise of work-based learning. We endeavored to shatter myths, remove barriers, and erase fears of attempting apprenticeship, particularly for small and medium-size businesses and parents who are naturally concerned about meaningful and gainful career choices for their children. This reader intends to show the possibilities modern apprenticeship affords contemporary societies and to inspire many to reframe the boundaries of traditional thinking.

Read More:
https://www.urban.org/research/publication/skilling-scope-modern-apprenticeship

7 November 2019 |

IWSI America,a workforce development organization, has released its 2019 report: It’s Time: Using Modern Apprenticeships to Reskill America. The report outlines how modern apprenticeships – defined as work-based learning programs designed to fill the specific talent needs of businesses and industries – can tighten the nation’s widening skills gap and strengthen pipelines of needed skilled workers across a wide range of growth industries.

The report spotlights some of the nation’s top companies including EasyKicks with NIKE, Mailchimp, Adobe and CVS Health, showing the effectiveness and versatility of modern apprenticeships across finance, healthcare, cybersecurity, engineering and advanced manufacturing industries.

“Modern apprenticeships are adaptable and applicable across so many industries and are needed now more than ever to strengthen businesses and economies. Employers experience a direct return on investment in apprenticeship programs, and apprentices benefit from a earn-while-you earn model that often positions them with a direct path to a job and free of student debt,” says Nicholas Wyman, CEO and founder of IWSI America.

Other key findings include:

• The US is facing a fundamental challenge to its economic prosperity. Employers are coming up short with the skills they need to be fully competitive, productive and meet long–term goals.
• Today, the average starting wage for apprentices in the United States is above $60,000, and apprentices mostly complete their program debt-free with the potential to earn college credit, leading to an Associate or Bachelor’s degree.
• Businesses are seeing tangible returns from their investments in modern apprenticeships through improved employee performance; greater workplace diversity; innovative product development; increased competitive advantage; and reduced turnover, training and recruitment costs.
• While employers are struggling to fill more than 7 million vacancies in the American job market with qualified candidates who have both relevant skills and workplace experience, 33% of college graduates are underemployed. The traditional approaches businesses use to cultivate talent, in either school or on the job, are out of sync with evolving employer needs. As a solution, people need to rethink their post-secondary and school-to-work options, and employers need to become more creative about their recruitment, hiring, and talent development strategies.
• Modern apprenticeship offers a broad array of career pathways, and unprecedented opportunities due to the skills gap; additionally around 91% of apprenticeship graduates find employment almost immediately after finishing their programs.

“With the tightest job market in history, it’s time to embrace a contemporary approach to workforce development, that meets both the technical and interpersonal skills needs of employers and prepares people for lifelong learning and success,” says Wyman.

My Thoughts:

I’ve been saying for years that “not everybody should go to college.” But for 20 years now, the higher-education industry, aided by plenty of help from the federal government and its offer of easy loans, along with propaganda about the “death of manufacturing” in America, made a generation of workers think their only alternative was to go to college o get ahead. I just hope that we’re not too late to show those in high school (or in their early 20s) today that an apprenticeship in their chosen field of work is a great option.

04 November 2019 |

Modern apprenticeships sync workforce development with economic demands.

Today IWSI America, a workforce development organization, released its 2019 report: It’s Time: Using Modern Apprenticeships to Reskill America. The report outlines how modern apprenticeships – defined as work-based learning programs designed to fill the specific talent needs of businesses and industries – can tighten the nation’s widening skills gap and strengthen pipelines of needed skilled workers across a wide range of growth industries.

The report, which spotlights some of the nation’s top companies including EasyKicks with NIKE, Mailchimp, Adobe and CVS Health, shows the effectiveness and versatility of modern apprenticeships across finance, healthcare, cybersecurity, engineering and advanced manufacturing industries.

“Modern apprenticeships are adaptable and applicable across so many industries and are needed now more than ever to strengthen businesses and economies. Employers experience a direct return on investment in apprenticeship programs and apprentices benefit from a earn-while-you earn model that often positions them with a direct path to a job and free of student debt,” said Nicholas Wyman, CEO and founder of IWSI America.

Additional key findings from the report include:

• The U.S. is facing a fundamental challenge to its economic prosperity. Employers are coming up short with the skills they need to be fully competitive, productive and meet long–term goals.
• Today, the average starting wage for apprentices in the United States is above $60,000 and apprentices mostly complete their program debt-free with the potential to earn college credit leading to an associate or bachelor’s degree.
• Businesses are seeing tangible returns from their investments in modern apprenticeships through improved employee performance; greater workplace diversity; innovative product development; increased competitive advantage; and reduced turnover, training and recruitment costs.
• While employers are struggling to fill more than 7 million vacancies in the American job market with qualified candidates who have both relevant skills and workplace experience, 33 percent of college graduates are underemployed. The traditional approaches businesses use to cultivate talent, in either school or on the job, are out of sync with evolving employer needs. As a solution, people need to rethink their post-secondary and school-to-work options, and employers need to become more creative about their recruitment, hiring, and talent development strategies.
• Modern Apprenticeship offers a broad array of career pathways, and unprecedented opportunities due to the skills gap, additionally around 91 percent of apprenticeship graduates find employment almost immediately after finishing their programs.
• California and Kentucky are leading the way in innovative programs that integrate education and businesses, with proven results.
• Other countries have implemented a successful model of baking apprenticeships into school curriculum, and ultimately combatting industry’s skills gap.

“With the tightest job market in history, it’s time to embrace a contemporary approach to workforce development, that meets both the technical and interpersonal skills needs of employers and prepares people for lifelong learning and success,” said Wyman.

About IWSI America
The IWSI Group has decades of experience in growing modern apprenticeship programs for a broad range of populations including young adults, transitioning or mature workers and underserved populations like disadvantaged youth, juveniles in the justice system, and formerly incarcerated individuals.

In addition to advising on the design and implementation of new programs, IWSI uses its decades of experience to identify gaps or weak links in existing programs and initiatives – improving efficacy, expanding candidate pools, and ultimately strengthening impacts of a workforce bolstered by modern apprenticeship. Learn more at www.iwsiamerica.org/. 

27 Oct, 2019 in Featured by Thresea Boyd.

You’re hired! A phrase many businesses aren’t saying often enough in today’s booming economy—but it’s not because there is a lack of jobs. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) estimates there are 7.6 million unfilled jobs, with only 6.5 million people actively looking for work.

With today’s talent shortage in multiple career fields, employers across the country are concerned. According to a survey by IWSI America, 40 percent of U.S. employers are unable to find workers with required technical skills; and 92 percent say the skills shortage is negatively impacting productivity, staff turnover, and employee satisfaction.

The manufacturing industry is a prime example. Research conducted by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute estimates that in the next ten years, manufacturers will need to add 4.6 million jobs, with 2.4 million expected to go unfilled. Currently, the U.S. manufacturing industry has more than 500,000 vacant positions.

With a “grow your own” approach, many executives are filling vacant positions through registered apprenticeship programs. The DOL confirms that U.S. employers have hired more than 583,000 apprentices since January 2017.

Dating back to the Industrial Revolution, apprenticeships were primarily focused on manufacturing; however, today, more than 1,000 career fields utilize the apprenticeship model, especially within high-demand careers.

Administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), registered apprenticeships are a tried-and-true process that combines business involvement, structured on-the-job training, related classroom instruction, wage progression for skill obtainment, and nationally-recognized credentials.

A DOL registered apprenticeship must have a sponsor that is responsible for the overall operation of the program. Sponsors can be a single business, a consortium of companies, or a range of workforce representatives, including industry associations, joint labor-management organizations, or post-secondary institutions.

With a mission to prepare a skilled workforce, all 22 Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) institutions are members of the DOL Registered Apprenticeship College Consortium and can serve as sponsors for registered apprenticeship programs.

Registered apprenticeships are part of a national model that enables employers to customize training that meets industry standards.

“Having industry-recognized credentials is very important to a trade worker,” says Free-Ollard. “The credential belongs to the employee and helps them advance in their occupation. It also shows that they have not only acquired training within their company, but have also met industry standards.”

TCSG students that graduate as apprentices earn both the industry-recognized credentials, as certified by the DOL, and an academic award of credit (degree, diploma, or technical certificate) from their institution.

“Having industry credentials is a big deal,” says Free-Ollard. “It proves that within their career path, they have mastered the required technical skills for their industry. I would encourage any employer interested in developing an apprenticeship program to contact their local technical college to get started.”

Michael Williams, dean of Academic Affairs with Wiregrass Georgia Technical College, says apprenticeship programs are becoming popular throughout South Georgia.

“At Wiregrass, we work with businesses that are in dire need of hiring workers with specific skills including diesel truck maintenance, welding, and industrial systems,” says Williams.

“There are benchmarks for learning new skills and a set wage progression. Apprenticeships are not just a little work experience and a paycheck, they are building a longtime career.”

Wiregrass Tech currently has nine programs approved for apprenticeship placement: accounting, automotive technology, CNC specialist, computer information systems, diesel truck maintenance, industrial system technology, precision machining and manufacturing, telecommunications, and welding and joining technology.

Connecting students with apprenticeship opportunities is a primary focus for Bill Tillman, Wiregrass Tech’s director of Economic Development and Cook Campus.

“Our initial conversations are very positive with local employers,” says Tillman. “We review the required work process, wage progression, and ask them to complete an Employer Acceptance Agreement to participate in the apprenticeship program.”

Once the apprenticeship program is established, the company’s existing employees or new hires are enrolled in the appropriate academic program, then registered through the DOL.

Serving an 11-county region (Atkinson, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Coffee, Cook, Echols, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, and Wilcox), Wiregrass Tech has apprenticeship agreements with 16 companies including ADB Hoist Rings, TransPower, Cass Burch Dealership, Steeda, Coyote Manufacturing, Verlyn, Premium Waters, Ace Technologies, and Ace Electric.

Apprenticeship programs offer Wiregrass Tech and other technical colleges, with an opportunity to strengthen partnerships with local employers and provide workforce solutions.

“This is a new avenue for Wiregrass to connect companies with skilled employees,” says Tillman. “Traditionally, we would train a student, then they graduate and go to work. We are now answering the call earlier and can use the apprenticeship model to get more people on the job and earn a living while continuing their education in the classroom.”

Companies are seeing the positive impact of the apprenticeship programs in recruiting, training and retaining highly skilled workers.

Plugging into Apprenticeships

With offices in Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, Ace Electric provides registered apprenticeship programs that utilize curriculum developed by the Independent Electric Contractors (IEC) Association.

Nichole Shanks, workforce development manager for Ace Electric, says electrical companies across the U.S. are facing significant problems in hiring electricians at the journeyman level.

“The national average age of journeymen working today is 45-years-old,” says Shanks. “At Ace Electric, that average is a little higher, so we have to build a generation of journeymen to fill the void that will be created over the next 10 to 15 years.”

With more than 600 employees, Shanks says keeping a steady stream of apprentices is vital to Ace Electric maintaining a productive workforce.

“We have one instructor at our Valdosta division, which means we are limited in the number of employees we can move through our apprenticeship program,” says Shanks. “With a required 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and classroom instruction, it takes four years for an apprentice to reach the journeyman level.”

With the demanding need for more commercial electricians, Wiregrass Tech developed the Commercial Electrical Construction Technology diploma and degree programs.

“We have two apprenticeship programs in place,” says Williams “The idea was that dual enrollment students might find the diploma attractive while existing employees at a company might gravitate to the degree. However, both programs are available to either group of students.”

Working with Ace Electric to develop the new programs, Williams says, “Ace is such an influential company in our service area, and we feel that the curriculum will apply to any similar company in the area. Ace has made it clear that they want their competitors to benefit from the program as well. If we introduce new groups of highly skilled electricians into the region, everyone will benefit.”

Williams explains that Wiregrass Tech developed the curriculum and modeled it from IEC courses, which are used for traditional electrician apprenticeships. Both programs are recognized and certified by the DOL, and students who complete the program are considered a journeyman electrician.

Ace Electric also awarded $25,000 to Wiregrass Tech to build a custom-designed classroom to support instruction for the Commercial Electrical Construction Technology programs.

Williams says the commercial electrical construction program has the potential to recruit young people into a field that they might not have considered.

“It is already filling the employment needs of the Ace program,” he says. “As the program grows, we expect to have other companies begin to hire students to help meet their employment needs as well. It will make a huge impact on the number of highly skilled electricians in the region.”

Expanding the Pipeline

Recruiting future electricians at the high school level is a critical factor in sustaining the workforce demand. Through Lowndes High School, Ace Electric has made an ongoing commitment to offer work-based learning and job shadowing opportunities and summer internships for high school students interested in pursuing a career in the field of commercial electrical construction.

“We are no longer just competing with other electrical contractors for employees,” says Shanks. “With the number of jobs far exceeding the number of available workers, we are competing with every industry.”

According to Shanks, for every three workers that leave a skilled trade position, only one new employee is hired.

With the fierce employment competition, Shanks says, “Ace Electric’s vision is to be the preferred electrical contractor and employer of choice in the communities and markets we serve. We will only be able to do this if we continue to attract and develop our future workforce.”

This year, nine Lowndes High School students were selected to participate in Ace Electric’s first summer internship program.

“This was our first year to have Lowndes High School students, and we were excited,” says Shanks. “We believe the summer internships are a great way to kick off the new program and partner with Lowndes High School and Wiregrass Tech.”

Jason VanNus, a system coordinator for work-based learning and youth apprenticeship program at Lowndes High School, says the summer internship with Ace Electric served as a vetting process to see if students wanted to pursue a registered apprenticeship in electrical construction.

VanNus was pleased with the summer internship results, as all nine students continue to work at Ace Electric, with six enrolled as registered apprentices, and seven as dual enrollment students through Wiregrass Tech. Including high school apprentices, Ace Electric has 10 registered apprentices enrolled through Wiregrass Tech.

“The student interns, which are now employees, have been a great addition to Ace,” says Shanks. “We hope many of them will continue with us for a long successful career.”

VanNus explains that youth apprenticeships have added another layer of opportunities for high school students to complete work-based learning.

“Gone are the days where a student is taking pathway classes in agriculture and then working in retail,” says VanNus. “There needs to be an alignment with what they are studying and where they are working.”

VanNus has found the local business community to be supportive in giving high school students work-based learning experience.

“Employers are beginning to understand the importance of investing in the students while they are in high school,” says VanNus. “It is our goal that when they graduate, and even if they leave our area, that they are valuable employees in their communities.”

Part of the Career, Technical, Agricultural Education (CTAE), the Lowndes High School’s work-based program has experienced a significant surge in participation with an increase from 51 to 123 students in the past year.

VanNus says his primary goal is to keep students working and obtaining the skills needed to succeed in their careers. “Apprenticeships are a good solution for the students and our community. When a new industry comes to town, I want them to know we have the workforce, starting with Lowndes High School students.”