The Director’s Chair

FOR MANY REASONS, this is a very busy time of year. For parents and students, it’s back-to-school time. For businesses, it’s the start of planning and budget-building for the coming year. If you’re a pigskin fan, it’s the beginning of a new football season. And yes, this moment between the end of August and the start of September marks the launch of an important hiring season.

In terms of hiring, this issue of the Apprenticely newsletter includes a number of real-life experiences and recommendations that I think all our readers will find valuable. I particularly appreciated First Orion Talent Management Director Tyler Schaller’s emphasis on “People First” and “keep the human element front and center.” That resonates strongly for us at Apprenticely.

If every job applicant—we call them candidates—had the right degree and the required number of years’ experience, employers wouldn’t need Apprenticely. But only a small percentage of candidates meets the minimum requirements, which means that a whole lot of people can benefit from our services. You see, we are in the “bridge-building” business. On one side of this workforce chasm are the employers with their required skills; on the other side is the talent pool of candidates. Remember, very few candidates match exactly what the employers require, so the candidates need to be developed and trained.

The development process includes coaching, resumé content and formatting, mock interviews, and, sometimes, a bit of confidence building. Training could begin with some free online curriculum relevant for the occupation they’re pursuing, and then continue with an Apprenticeship, which means a full-time job from day one, along with more extensive training and on-the-job mentoring. This entire process only works if the employers, the candidates, and our Apprenticely team stays focused on the “human element,” meaning the positive impact for both the employers and their new employees.

We talk to a lot of employers, and almost all are dealing with mounds of resumés that are A.I. generated and submitted by bots. In a future issue, we can tell you how we went from an average of 100 applications a month to now over 600. There’s a lot of traffic on the bridges this time of year. Enjoy the August articles. And whether you’re an employer or a job seeker, let us know how we can help with your own hiring challenges.

–Bill Yoder
Executive Director