1, 2, 3… go…. Wait, there are two existential questions you will need to address first:
1) Where is there demand to training people for this tech role?
2) Do you have a sustainable model to support a program?
Demand
I am finding more and more examples of Product, Marketing, SaaS sales, and other new collar career opportunities that employ an earn and learn model. Kudos to Shelton Banks at Re:Work Training who has designed and implemented a phenomenal Tech Sales program. This is a great example of a program using a innovative mix of stipends, hiring bonuses, and good old fashion relationship-building to create earn and learn opportunities for in-demand tech roles.
Creating Coding Careers found a tremendous amount of demand for Software Engineering and Data Engineering roles. Whereas a few years ago, prior to the pandemic and the Great Resignation not as many companies were interested in early career engineering talent. Now, most hiring managers and recruiters are struggling to find Senior talent. They are rethinking what skills are actually required and designing new solutions to leverage pipelines of tech talent.
I have only considered designing programs around career pathways where I can easily find participants employment once they have been trained. This is not training for the sake of training. Plan for 100% placement before you launch if you want the program to be successful.
The Model
There is only about $2,000 – $4,000 in available grant funding per participant, so I would recommend you design a model with the cost to train (including the hourly wages for apprentices) budgeted to be paid entirely by an employer/department.
Typically a company hires and pays salaries plus the other expenses of the apprenticeship program (program managers, equipment, etc.). Everything is run in house and the budget comes from HR/DEI or the engineering team.
An organization could also choose to hire a multi-employer apprenticeship organization to recruit and train apprentices. The company then typically pays a fee for the services provided by these Outside Program Manager (OPM) or pays for the delivery of software with an option to hire talent.
At the end of the day the model has to substantiate what a company should invest and how will they measure the ROI.
6 points to design around
When designing a successful program you should plan and answer the following:
- Recruiting – how will you source and screen talent?
- Curriculum Design/Delivery – How will you develop the training and successfully ensure delivery of the material to learners?
- On the job training (OJT) – How can you ensure participants gain sufficient work experience to be ready to work more independently after the program?
- Performance Tracking – How will you measure competencies and provide feedback to apprentices?
- Mentorship – How can you build long lasting professional relationships for participants with experienced industry professionals?
- Career Placement – Who will hire all your apprentices (internal teams, or external placements)?
Finally, if you register your program you must develop a standard that you will seek approval to implement. The US Department of Labor and most states will provide a consultant to help you develop your standard. They may not be able to help much with designing the other elements of your program. I would recommend you be prepared to address each of the items before you seek registration. I’ve covered a few of these topics in my previous newsletters and will dedicate the next few newsletters to diving a bit deeper into the rest.
Shout out to Andy Seth at Apprentix who has created a SaaS platform to help folks design apprenticeship programs.
If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed reach out. I’d be happy to help you plan your approach to an earn and learn pathway.