A HUMAN SERVICES STORY Collaboration clears path to IT apprenticeships.
The Challenge
While the Information Technology industry is challenged to keep pace with rapid tech advancement, employers struggle to recruit, train, and retain IT employees. At the same time, individuals with an aptitude for high-skilled careers are working in lower-paying jobs and struggling with increased student loan debt because they can’t find a clear pathway to an IT career.
These circumstances cause both employers and potential IT professionals to recognize the value of IT apprenticeships. While workforce boards, job training centers, educational institutions, and public and private employers have more opportunities to promote apprenticeship benefits, they lack the expertise and resources to implement grants and establish public-private partnerships.
Our Approach
Our team of registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship experts collaborated with Clark University to create Tech Quest, an efficient strategy to implement IT apprenticeship expansion by supporting state and federal workforce systems’ navigation of the workforce and apprenticeship ecosystem. Comprehensive services include technical assistance, funding support, and management and administration for state and federal apprenticeship and workforce systems. We also developed marketing and communications support for outreach, grant writing, help with equal employment opportunity compliance, and performance reporting.
Outcomes
Collaborating with project stakeholders expanded IT apprentice opportunities through easier-to-navigate workforce systems. Thanks to our partnership with Clark University, over 2,500 Tech Quest Apprenticeship participants have been placed in IT pre-apprenticeships or apprenticeships and over 55 companies and organizations across the U.S. now offer IT apprenticeship opportunities in areas including cybersecurity, telehealth, advanced manufacturing, telecommunications, and other non-traditional industries. We’ve also increased networking and contracts with strategic partners and organizations seeking IT services to build their organizations.