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Apprenticeship Promises to Address Tech Skills Gap for Private Sector

You’ve read the headlines:

According to the World Economic Forum, disruptive changes will significantly impact the skills requirements across all industries, which will require upskilling and reskilling of the global workforce. In fact, there are nearly 17 percent more job openings than available workers in the market. And, 70 of company executives believe their current employers lack the computer and technology skills to meet future workplace demands.

National Apprenticeship Act of 2020

In the United States, the Committee on Education and Labor recognized the seriousness of the impact and voted to advance the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020, which updated the 1937 legislation. The Act invests more than $3.5 billion to create one billion new apprenticeship opportunities over the next five years.

The new legislation is a great reason to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) during the week of November 8 through 14. During the week, businesses, communities, and educators can showcase their apprenticeship programs and provide valuable information to job seekers. At a time when unemployment is at an all-time high, apprenticeship programs offer a path to employment for many Americans.

‘There is no better time than now to invest in this proven program to help people get back to work as tens of millions of workers continue to receive unemployment checks each week,’ said Chairman Robert C. ‘Bobby’ Scott during his opening statement. ‘The national apprenticeship system is well-suited to meet our current challenges. Apprentices begin earning wages on their first day of training and go on to develop in-demand skills and a nationally portable credential that is universally recognized by employers across the country.’ — Committee on Education and Labor

How Apprenticeships Benefit Employers

There is a very real, very global cost to the technology skills gap. By 2020, 5 million positions could go unfilled, at the cost of $160 billion a year to the economy.

And, while this hurts on a macro-level, tech employers are feeling the pinch at the micro-level. More than 60 percent of employers report having vacancies stay open for twelve weeks or longer, and 40 percent of businesses will—in the very near future—be unable to take on additional work due to the skills gap.

So, what can be done to fix this situation?

For centuries, apprenticeships have helped bridge the skills gap for many employers, but that’s only one of the many benefits employers can realize. Other benefits include:

Customized training that meets industry standards, resulting in highly-skilled employees.
Increased knowledge transfer through on-the-job and classroom instruction.
Enhanced employee retention.
Improved safety because of well-trained personnel.
A stable and reliable pipeline of qualified workers.

Using a systematic approach to training and certification, employees can perform at their occupation’s highest skill levels.

Partner With Woz U for Your IT Training and Development Solutions

Earlier this year, Woz Enterprise launched a U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship Program to address the widening technology skills gap. Working closely with enterprise partners such as Infosys, the program provides immediate benefits to both job-seekers and the company that is looking for much-needed tech talent. Learners receive customized on-the-job skills while being placed in entry-level apprenticeship jobs.

Learn how a partnership with Woz Enterprise can help develop a pipeline of skilled tech talent with diverse backgrounds to enable your business to hire with confidence.

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