How employers use apprenticeships to build what’s next

Clint Hankinson

IN AN EVER-EVOLVING marketplace, shortages of skills, the challenges of an aging workforce, and the constant demands of technology significantly impact the success of today’s organizations, making effective succession planning more important than ever. Longtime skilled workers are retiring, while others are finding greener pastures with other companies. This leaves employers scrambling to staff hard-to-fill roles. Ever-changing work requirements don’t help.

Critical knowledge often lives within a handful of employees, or sometimes even a single individual, so it’s crucial for employers to ask themselves a hard question: When, and not “if,” those team members eventually leave their positions, is there a plan in place to keep the organization’s momentum going without interruption? Too many times, the true answer to that question is no. Many company leaders allow themselves to be caught off guard, losing precious momentum trying to quickly replace that departed talent.

For some, the go-to staffing strategy is to find an external hire. By turning outward, however, they miss the opportunity to continue to grow those internal employees in whom they’ve already invested. Especially with the higher-skilled roles, this outward strategy can actually discourage current team members from applying, because they see themselves as unqualified after comparing their current skills with the position requirements; that feeling of being stuck in place can also turn a good employee into a demoralized one. Another effect of this external strategy is that it can lead to a swapping game, in which talent hops from one company to another, producing a net zero gain in the skilled workforce pool.

Leaders need to broaden their external-first strategy and embrace an internal one of “advance and replace.” That said, an internal strategy comes with its own challenges. Advancing incumbent team members can require significant training and resources, and internal promotions can create backfill issues. Managers and supervisors are often hesitant to let their best people go due to the temporary impact it will make on their processes. Fortunately, there’s a simple and effective solution to this problem: Registered Apprenticeships, a proven way to plan for tomorrow without disrupting operations today.

Historically, apprenticeships have primarily focused on the trades, but today their application has broadened, reaching into nearly every industry sector. Apprenticeships also span roles of various experience levels—in other words, they’re not just for entry-level positions. Realizing that Registered Apprenticeships have developed into a well-defined tool providing structure, flexibility, and long-term workforce stability, today’s employers are able to implement successful multi-goal apprenticeship programs for upskilling and advancing current employees, who can then become mentors to those coming up behind them; training new hires to become productive quickly; building role-specific skills customized to their organization’s needs; and helping their team members start career paths leading to future advancement.

Leaders who implement such a strategy are preparing their companies to be in a position of strength in times of marketplace volatility. But what does this look like in practice, and how do you get started? 

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BASED ON YOUR employee performance data and the roles that are most likely to have a vacancy, the first thing to do is identify an employee, or group of employees, that you’d like to prepare and grow for more advanced positions. A successful advancement strategy must be intentional, and through an apprenticeship you’ll formalize a training plan using customized curriculum, plus knowledge you’ve collected from experienced staff, for each specific apprentice’s role. In this way, you’ll build both technical and leadership skills over time.

Success Story: The Information Systems department of a leading food supplier opened a Jr. Developer salaried position and 60 incumbent candidates from the plant applied.  Many were interviewed and two were selected as apprentices and received software developer training.  Meanwhile, the two vacated positions opened up for hourly work in the plant and were filled by new apprentices from the community.

Once you’ve advanced an employee to a higher position, you can first look within and promote a dedicated team member who shows potential, or you can give a new opportunity to someone in your community and enroll them as an apprentice. Training that’s embedded in an apprenticeship program includes classroom skill-building, hands-on application, and mentorship from an individual you select from either inside or outside your organization. The training plan is specifically aligned to the role, not a general curriculum. This level of training reduces your onboarding time and helps your hire become productive faster.

With your apprenticeship program, you’re building a well-oiled machine enabling you to plan beyond one role at a time. You’re creating a repeatable process for:

• Advancement
• Knowledge transfer from future retirees
• Built-in mentors in those who have advanced
• New hire training
• Supplemental staffing strategy to your recruiting

With an apprenticeship program in place, your succession planning becomes a part of your everyday workforce strategy—not a last-minute response that could lead to mistakes.

Success Story: A technology company secured a government contract that required a Security Operations Center Analyst position to be filled. Candidates from the company’s Tech Support area already knew the business and one was offered an apprenticeship to fill the SOC Analyst opening; certified training was provided. The opening in the Tech Support area was filled through the existing pipeline of entry-level candidates, and the person was hired as an apprentice. Both new hires received their A+ certification, required by the government contract.

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SUCCESSFUL SUCCESSION PLANNING requires intention, planning, and resources, but the benefits far outweigh the challenges. The return on investment that employers discover include:

• Reduced hiring and training costs
• Lower turnover and stronger employee retention
• Less disruption during role transitions, reducing loss of productivity
• Greater confidence in workforce readiness
• Higher employee morale when they know consistent growth and advancement is possible
• A long-term solution that grows with the business

Succession planning doesn’t have to be complicated. With the right strategy, it can be simple and effective, allowing you to enjoy the benefits of being prepared for what’s around the corner. Whether you’re a large manufacturer, a small rural healthcare center, or a two-person technology company, apprenticeships can be customized to your roles and industry needs. Your apprenticeship program will work for both your existing employees and your new hires.

Registered apprenticeships give employers a clear path to advance current employees, replace vacancies efficiently, and build a stronger workforce for the future. Employers who plan ahead today are better positioned for growth tomorrow.

Because administering an apprenticeship program brings its own set of responsibilities, however, partnering with an experienced sponsor can make the process easier by helping manage the set-up, registration, and launch of your program, as well as by providing ongoing support and compliance with the USDOL. Working with a sponsor can dramatically reduce your learning curve and quickly set you up for success.

If you’re ready to learn more or take the next step, contact the team at Apprenticely to start building your successful strategy. We’ve helped more than 200 employers across multiple industries launch and grow their own successful registered apprenticeship programs, and we can do the same for you.
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Clint Hankinson is Apprenticely’s Director of Marketing.