Earn while you learn: Apprentice programs can benefit employers and workers

3 years ago 469

CompTIA expands apprenticeship programs for entry-level tech jobs including security, web and enactment roles.

Whether the situation is uncovering caller hires to enactment integer translation projects or, upskilling existent workers, there's nary shortage of workforce needs for tech companies and businesses successful general. European businesses person agelong utilized apprenticeships to physique a workforce and American companies are starting to travel astir to this attack arsenic well.

In April, the U.S. Government Accountability Office suggested caller policies to enactment workers and employers specified arsenic establishing lifelong learning accounts for workers to money continuous acquisition and grooming opportunities. The GAO besides suggested encouraging employers to physique apprenticeship programs.

The Department of Labor collected this information astir the authorities of apprenticeships successful 2020:

221,000 individuals nationwide entered the apprenticeship system
636,000 apprentices earned wages portion successful a program
82,000 apprentices graduated from the apprenticeship programs

The pandemic slowed momentum for these vocation improvement efforts arsenic everything went virtual. However, the U.S. authorities acted to grow apprenticeships arsenic portion of the economical effect to occupation losses during the pandemic. The House of Representatives passed an apprenticeship measure successful February and it is present successful the Senate. The measure provides billions successful backing for apprenticeship programs and gives the Department of Labor authorization to enactment these efforts.

SEE: Microsoft and IBM usage apprenticeships to diversify tech and lick the labour shortage

Here's a look astatine tech companies that person caller oregon established apprenticeship programs that are taking applicants now.

CompTIA Apprenticeships for Tech

One of the newest programs launched astatine the extremity of August. CompTIA's apprenticeship programme conscionable added 4 caller programs to spell on with caller standards released by the Department of Labor. The caller grooming programs screen these entry-level tech jobs:

Cybersecurity enactment technician
Network enactment specialist
Tech task coordinator
Tech enactment specialist

The National Guideline Standards outline workplace grooming and supplemental coursework for apprentices successful each role. For example, radical successful the tech task coordinator grooming volition person on-the-job grooming and acquisition successful the basics of task management, wide IT terminology and concepts, concern acumen, employability skills and different areas. The standards besides see qualifications and recruitment of prospective apprentices, the duration of grooming and recommended wage scale.

SEE: 3 ways the feds tin modernize occupation grooming to lick the tech workforce shortage

The Department of Labor selected CompTIA and the endowment improvement institution Maher & Maher to enactment successful the nationalist apprenticeship inaugural to summation the fig of workers trained and certified to capable high-demand tech positions. The programs are designed to enlistee radical from groups who are underrepresented successful the tech workforce, including women, radical of colour and individuals with disabilities. Employers tin prosecute CompTIA to plan and tally an apprenticeship program.

Apprenticeships astatine Google

Google has apprenticeship opportunities astir the world, including France, India, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and the US. Applications for the US programme are closed for 2021 but applications are unfastened for enactment successful Switzerland. There are 5 tracks: integer marketing, accusation technology, task management, bundle engineering and UX design. All apprentices astatine Google enactment successful on-the-job enactment acquisition and person outer grooming done a spouse organization. When they decorativeness the program, apprentices person a nationally recognized credential certified by the Labor Department. Some of the tracks besides see completing the corresponding Google Career Certificate.

IBM's New Collar Program

People without precocious degrees tin larn portion they gain successful IBM's apprenticeship program. The New Collar Program is an intensive, work-based improvement programme with broad learning, focused hands-on grooming and mentorship. There are unfastened jobs astir the U.S. for apprentices. These pupil workers person to implicit circumstantial learning hours and on-the-job grooming wrong 12 months. Graduates person a certificate from the programme and are eligible to use to disposable full-time roles astatine IBM.

Amazon Technical Academy

Amazon has its ain interior method footwear camp, which the institution opened up to 2 different grooming centers earlier this year. Amazon Technical Academy is partnering with 2 online grooming partners with tech expertise: Kenzie Academy and Lambda School. Amazon launched the academy successful 2017 arsenic portion of an interior upskilling program and the institution invested much than $12 cardinal into the programme successful 2020.

Microsoft Leap

This 16-week apprenticeship programme started successful 2015 for radical who person basal method skills. It combines schoolroom learning and hands-on engineering projects, moving connected teams and products wrong the company, including Azure, Xbox, Bing and Office365. There are eight vocation pathways with varying entranceway requirements. This includes concern programme manager, lawsuit work engineer, cybersecurity engineer, information analyst, bundle engineer, method programme manager, idiosyncratic acquisition decorator and bundle enactment engineers. The cohorts are based successful Redmond, WA, Atlanta, GA, Reston, VA, Sunnyvale, CA, Lagos, Nigeria, Nairobi, Kenya, Vancouver BC, Canada, and Mexico City, Mexico.