Transforming HR Through Apprenticeship Programs

Managing director Guillermo Corea, host of the SHRM WorkplaceTech Spotlight series, opened the conversation on apprenticeship programs by emphasizing the recruitment and retention struggles currently topping the priority list for so many in the field: “Retention and recruitment is the No. 1 issue that HR is currently dealing with. ... A whopping 83% of HR professionals struggle to find candidates with the right skills and competencies.” This stark reality drives companies to reconsider traditional hiring practices and tap into nontraditional talent pools through innovative skills-based approaches.

To delve deeper into this topic, Corea spoke with Lateesha Thomas, CEO and co-founder of Onramp, an organization focused on workforce development and skills-based hiring solutions. Thomas offered a unique perspective on how apprenticeships and skills assessments can help companies connect to qualified candidates that often get overlooked. As Thomas said, “We really founded Onramp because we wanted to be the conduit between companies who were looking for highly skilled labor and career transitioning candidates who are eager to learn and ready to fill those roles.”

The Need for Innovation in HR Practices

Thomas stressed that despite common assumptions, the landscape reflects “a very real competitive war for talent happening right now.” The skills gap has left HR professionals struggling to source qualified applicants to fill vacant roles that require specialized technical abilities. Estimates suggest that by 2027, artificial intelligence and digitization will create nearly 70 million new jobs worldwide while eliminating 83 million positions, underscoring the urgency of addressing skill mismatches. 

“Skills-based hiring ... is just evaluating a candidate’s abilities and knowledge based on their specific skills and expertise rather than academic essentials or certifications or previous work experience,” Thomas said. This approach emphasizes evaluating candidates more holistically based on concrete skills aligned to the open position rather than relying largely on resumes and degrees.

Adopting Skills-Based and Apprenticeship Approaches

To guide companies interested in skills-based hiring, Thomas offered actionable suggestions such as removing strict degree requirements and incorporating skills-based assessments into the hiring process. She explained that “employers often equate college completion with work attitude and disregard self-taught knowledge or other nonacademic experiences.” In addition, data indicates that skills-based hiring can boost retention rates by 10% to 25%, highlighting the value of this more comprehensive evaluation approach. Adjusting these ingrained biases can expand the talent pool.

Additionally, Thomas defined apprenticeships as an innovative recruitment method, explaining that they “employ a learn-and-earn model, which allows candidates to gain the specific skills for your roles at your company while earning a living wage at the same time.” Whether developed for external candidates or current employees seeking to reskill, properly structured apprenticeships allow hands-on development to build job-specific competencies. This is particularly crucial given that, on average, 44% of new hires’ skill sets need updating to adequately fulfill their roles, emphasizing the importance of robust training and upskilling.

The Challenges and Solutions for Implementing Apprenticeships in the US

Compared to robust apprenticeship infrastructures abroad, the U.S. trails significantly. As Thomas said, “I think that the U.S. government certainly wants to create more apprenticeship programs, but there’s just not a culture of apprenticeship here.” In Europe, for example, many countries utilize payroll tax funds to finance and incentivize formal apprenticeship schemes directly. Simplifying funding access and program logistics could promote more wide-scale adoption domestically.

For HR professionals motivated to integrate skills assessments and apprenticeship models, valuable resources include:

• U.S. Department of Labor’s Apprenticeship Toolkit.
• Onramp’s Skills Academy Offerings.
• IBM’s Global Apprenticeship Program.

Concluding Thoughts

As the future of work rapidly evolves, HR practices must keep pace. With projections indicating that 44% of worker skills will face disruption in the next five years, proactively addressing skills gaps is paramount. Apprenticeships and skills-based hiring are promising solutions to pervasive recruitment and retention struggles. By taking an innovative approach, companies can connect to skilled talent, improve the quality of hires, enhance employee development, and strengthen retention. Rather than viewing the current landscape as an insurmountable challenge, forward-thinking leaders have an opportunity to transform hiring and training for the better.

FAQs

What are the benefits of apprenticeship programs for employers and candidates?

For employers, apprenticeship programs create pipelines for building job-specific skills that directly fill open roles. This enhances retention because apprentices are trained according to a company’s needs. For apprentices, these earn-as-you-learn programs provide career development, mentoring, and an alternative pathway to high-demand roles outside formal education.

How can a company start transitioning toward skills-based hiring?

Initial steps include conducting skills gap analyses of struggling roles, removing degree requirements, incorporating skills assessments into hiring processes, and partnering with organizations focused on skills-based candidate sourcing. An iterative approach allows companies to build buy-in and enhance processes over time.

What challenges do companies face when implementing apprenticeship programs in the U.S.?

Leading obstacles include a lack of cultural familiarity with apprenticeships, confusion navigating compliance considerations, scarcity of turnkey programs for guidance, and difficulties accessing government funding compared to streamlined approaches in countries such as Switzerland and the U.K.

Are there any success stories of companies that have successfully adopted apprenticeship programs?

Notable examples include IBM and Cloud Factory’s tech apprenticeships, Penn Foster College’s corporate partnerships with companies including CVS, and Year Up’s long-running program portfolio working with over 250 major corporations to bridge skills gaps in business, tech, financial services, and health care.

— 

This article was written based on Episode 18 of the WorkplaceTech Spotlight.

Thank you to Lateesha Thomas, CEO and co-founder of Onramp, for contributing to the conversation. 

Sources:

• [Source: SHRM - WTS Ep. 18 - Transforming Talent Acquisition Through Apprenticeships]
  [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUH2YAn30]
• [Source: SHRM - The Skills Gap is So Big That Nearly Half of Workers Need to Be Retrained this Decade]
  [https://www.shrm.org/executive-network/insights/skills-gap-big-nearly-half-workers-need-to-retrained-decade]
• [Source: LinkedIn Pulse - Skills-Based Hiring improves Retention rate by 10% and increases employee Salaries by 25%]
  [https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/skills-based-hiring-improves-retention-rate-10-25-nicolas-behbahani-qar4e/]
• [Source: LinkedIn Pulse - Future State of Hiring & Retention]
  [https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/future-state-hiring-retention-omnipresentgroup-c5wnc/]
• [Source: SHRM - Recruiting Internally and Externally]
  [https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/tools/toolkits/recruiting-internally-externally#]
• [Source: World Economic Forum - The Future of Jobs Report 2023][https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2023/]