Apprenticeships can lower costs for your organization and boost its employee retention rate. Additionally, research indicates that apprenticeship programs are great for employees, employers, and the economy.
Here are four types of apprenticeship programs you should consider offering this year, regardless of your industry.
1. Skills-Based
To help close the current skills gap in the American workforce, employers should consider offering skills-based apprenticeships. Whether it’s in coding, technology, finance, marketing, welding, or something else, employers will need to consistently upgrade their employees’ hard skills (or technical skills) in the 21st century if they’re to remain competitive.
According to Pew Research, more and more American workers don’t believe that colleges and other educational institutions are preparing them properly for the current workforce, technically speaking, and more and more organizations will have to take responsibility for ensuring that they are prepared to complete necessary tasks and everyday job requirements.
So, if you consider implementing skills-based apprenticeships, you’ll be able to train your own organization’s potential future workers while contributing to improving the overall skills of the future workforce—which is cost-effective and great for your organization’s reputation and brand.
2. Agile-Based
In our current global and ever-evolving workforce, employees in every industry need to learn and gain experience in being more agile, especially employees who are leaders.
So, as employees are learning more tactical and technical skills, they should also learn ways to adapt to impending changes within your organization’s specific industry.
Offer apprenticeships that allow employees to learn about new customized technology implementations, that allow them to be more autonomous and engage in strategic partnerships or relationships, or that require mobile-first policies or strategies.
For more insight, read “The Ins and Outs of Training and Developing More Agile Employees” and “5 Things You Need to Develop a More Agile Workforce.”
3. Customer Service-Based
Apprenticeships that focus on customer service skills are critical, as they will offer both current and future employees many opportunities to learn valuable communications and emotional intelligence skills, as well as real-life opportunities to practice those skills.
And in the current workforce, those skills are now in much higher demand than they were before and are necessary, especially as more tasks and roles become automated.
Read “Why Everyone in Your Organization Needs to Be Trained in Customer Service” for more details.
4. Mentor-Based
One of the best ways for apprentices to learn a trade or nuances of a profession or new role hands on is to have a mentor who is a master at his or her craft. A mentor can provide much-needed guidance and insight that many apprentices are already seeking.
What’s more, most Millennials want a mentor, and those employees who have a mentor are more likely to stay with an organization long term. So, if you’re interested in recruiting some of your apprentices or upskilling your current workforce, invest in mentor-based apprenticeship programs.
To remain competitive this year, consider offering one or more of the four types of apprenticeships outlined above.