Apprenticeships need to be more visible, but how?

Our intro story

Here's a real-life story...

We stumbled upon apprenticeships by mistake. When WorkHands was founded, the goal was to create a blue-collar, skilled trade-focused LinkedIn. We were sick of building the usual Silicon Valley-focused solutions aimed at solving our own problems. We wanted to solve the problems of our brothers and fathers who worked in different industries.

We knew nothing of apprenticeships. It was only by chance that we were introduced to an apprenticeship program here in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was only by chance that their coordinator knew a little bit about software and how it might help him more easily track on-the-job training (OJT) than having his apprentices submit scribbled paper time cards that were late, illegible, or not delivered at all.

He asked if we could help with that problem somehow in our network. The rest is history.

Discovering apprenticeships shouldn't be a mistake

Based on conversations, we do not think we're alone in the serendipity that led us to apprenticeship. In fact, if you watched our Making Apprenticeship Simpler video with Ethan Duquette, an electrical apprentice at IEC in Austin, TX, he says just that. He stumbled into apprenticeships only because his girlfriend's dad suggested it.

He knew about the option of college. He knew about the option of the military. He had no idea until after graduating high school that apprenticeships were an option for him.

Apprenticeship never came up at his high school. Apprenticeship never came up with his guidance counselor. No one else in his life knew to suggest he look into an apprenticeship.

He stumbled onto it.

The best kept secret in workforce

There's a state administrator we've spoken with in the past that describes the struggle of getting students into apprenticeships.

She mentions presenting apprentices to high school and community college students, and how easily they're sold on the idea. It IS an education. And a job, too! These students know the student loan debt problem in this country. They're already hooked. Now they just need the close.

"So how do we find apprenticeships?," they ask.

Here she's stumped. Well, you can go to a government website. Find a directory of apprenticeships. Then look up each one of their websites and see if they're taking applications. Or, you can go to apprenticeship.gov, but those wont all necessarily be apprenticeships or even in your state. Or, you can be hired by an employer that has apprenticeships but doesn't post about them.

It shouldn't be that hard. Why are apprenticeships the best kept secret in workforce?

The solution is multi-faceted

Apprenticeships shouldn't be stumbled upon, but the reason they are is multi-faceted so the solutions need to be, too.

Culturally, apprenticeships aren't in the mainstream. They're not already known about by parents, students, and guidance counselors so they need to be introduced. These groups know college. They don't know apprenticeship.

Apprenticeships need to be standardized further. I'm not talking about standards, either. I mean the schedule of apprenticeships -- when do they take applications, what's the symbol of an apprenticeship, how do you apply? College has this already. They take applications in the fall. You're accepted in the winter/spring. You matriculate in the coming fall. You can use a standard application for many of them. When you graduate, you have a ceremony with a cap and gown. Apprenticeship needs this cadence and imagery to increase their visibility.

And finally, if you're already sold, apprenticeship needs a better close. It needs to be dead simple to find an apprenticeship, and it's not that way today.

This is something technology can help with. Maybe someone should build something to help with this problem?

Stay tuned ;-)