Why Apprenticeships Are A ‘Win-Win’ For Companies Together With Employees

By Amar Toor
Digital Communications Officer, Directorate for Education together with Skills

Image credit: Alex Kotliarskyi/Unsplash
As the founder together with executive manager of the Global Apprenticeship Network (GAN), Shea Gopaul spends a lot of her fourth dimension thinking most the hereafter of work. Artificial tidings (AI), machine learning together with emerging technologies pick out dramatically altered the science sets that employers seek today, together with the career paths for immature adults today expect increasingly unclear. But Gopaul thinks apprenticeships tin terminate assistance – both for recent graduates who may live on unsure of their side past times side steps, equally good equally older adults looking to adjust their science sets to a fast-changing market.

We sat downwards amongst Gopaul at the OECD Forum before this yr to larn to a greater extent than most how apprenticeships tin terminate twain the “skills gap”, together with why effective apprenticeship programmes are a “win-win” for both companies together with employees.


Apprenticeship is an attractive shape of educating immature people together with preparing them for the labour market, together with many countries pick out been trying to innovate apprenticeships amongst varying success. In your view, what are the principal obstacles to introducing apprenticeships? Could y'all give us examples of success stories?

When you’re talking most the gilded measure inwards apprenticeships, you’re talking most countries similar Switzerland, Federal Republic of Federal Republic of Germany together with Austria. But fifty-fifty inwards those countries, nosotros pick out a large job amongst the stigma associated amongst apprenticeships. The number ane issue, inwards every country, is that parents run across the career path equally going through university, together with exclusively university. All other jobs or other vocational preparation are minute class.

In fact, Sergio Ermotti, the caput of UBS together with a fellow member of the GAN board, started out equally an apprentice when he was fifteen years old; he didn’t know what he wanted to do, therefore he did a banking apprenticeship. He didn’t squall upwards he would e'er desire to acquire into banking, but the apprenticeship non exclusively helped him determine on his career path, it also gave him a sure maturity. And the Swiss organisation is such that he could easily acquire from his apprenticeship dorsum into farther studies. So that career path of starting equally an apprentice, getting to empathise what y'all like, maturing together with and therefore going dorsum to academy is really a win-win.

Unfortunately apprenticeships, internships together with learnerships pick out frequently been used equally a source of inexpensive labour. I loathe to say that, but it’s true. And because of that, a lot of times, the legislation together with regulations are therefore stringent together with complicated that employers but don’t ready apprenticeships. Through our 12 GAN national networks, we’re working to convey the populace together with mortal sectors around the tabular array to hash out ways to ready an environs that really encourages employers to ready apprenticeships. Sometimes that involves taxation incentives.

We also piece of work to demo employers the supply on investment, because setting upwards an apprenticeship programme tin terminate live on expensive. But inwards the US, for every dollar that employers pass [on apprenticeships], they have USD 1.47 inwards return. In Switzerland, employers pay for the get-go year, but past times the minute together with 3rd years they acquire their supply on investment. So nosotros pick out to live on amend at communicating to employers that there’s really a job concern instance for apprenticeships.

Shea Gopaul, Executive Director of the Global Apprenticeship Network
New technologies are changing the work construction together with tasks performed on the job. How pick out y'all seen vocational educational together with preparation (VET) programmes adjust to this? And how do y'all run across the operate of apprenticeships changing equally AI, machine learning together with novel technologies modify the science laid that employers mightiness need?  

We really pick out a lot of information technology companies inwards the GAN, together with they’re really struggling to acquire immature people who pick out the skills that they need. What they’re maxim is they desire shorter apprenticeship programmes, together with that they desire them to focus on soft skills – that agency collaboration, communication, teamwork, together with creativity, which mightiness non live on what y'all would squall upwards an information technology companionship would want.

[IT companies] experience that they tin terminate instruct the technical skills to immature people, but teaching that thirst for learning together with how to live on flexible is really important, together with apprenticeships tin terminate assistance laissez passer on that. Vocational preparation used to focus on extremely technical work, but information technology companies today say that the technology scientific discipline they instruct today may no longer live on relevant inwards half dozen months’ time. So it’s of import that immature people larn to move on learning, together with adjust novel technologies to fifty-fifty to a greater extent than advanced technologies.

Some countries pick out ready fiscal incentives, such equally levies or subsidies, to promote training. What is your experience amongst theses mechanisms? Are at that spot amend ways of involving employers?

I’m non sure the fiscal aspect is telephone commutation for real large companies, but it sure enough is for SMEs [small together with medium enterprises]. That’s where the chore increase volition be, together with I squall upwards they do demand some incentives, because setting upwards an apprenticeship programme tin terminate live on complicated. In the US, for example, at that spot are 50 states, together with they all do things 50 dissimilar ways. So if you’re an employer together with you’re inwards all 50 states, y'all really demand dissimilar registration processes [for each state], or y'all may pick out to ready your ain public-private partnerships amongst universities. It’s really costly together with fourth dimension consuming, therefore they demand intermediaries to assistance facilitate it. Large multinationals pick out large HR departments to do some of this work, but fifty-fifty some of these companies are maxim it’s becoming also expensive together with the numbers are also small-scale to justify the costs. So I squall upwards simplifying the organisation together with letting employers drive some of these innovative apprenticeships is an interesting model.

I squall upwards taxation incentives tin terminate live on important, but I squall upwards getting the give-and-take out at that spot is the most of import thing, together with perchance the biggest hurdle. That’s why nosotros piece of work to part the best practices of companies that pick out implemented apprenticeships – to demo that at that spot is a job concern instance for doing this, together with that it makes sense. They pick out amend retentivity [rates], because immature people come upwards inwards amongst a mentor together with they experience that they belong. So they’re to a greater extent than engaged together with to a greater extent than productive.

There are enough of systems out at that spot that work, but I don’t squall upwards y'all tin terminate cutting together with glue whatsoever country’s organisation into a novel environment; y'all pick out to expect at the civilization together with y'all pick out to expect at dissimilar industries. But I squall upwards it’s non an impossible task. You but pick out to respect the correct partners together with people to acquire inwards slow to implement.


This interview has been condensed together with edited for clarity. 


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