The world of work is rapidly changing — especially when it comes to recruiting and retaining a skilled workforce.

Many businesses are facing a skills shortage. They just can’t find enough skilled workers to keep up with demand. Many young graduates with generic degrees don’t have the specific skills needed to do the job, and older employees are challenged with technological advances. Faced with these problems, businesses need new strategies to oversee employee recruitment and retention.

One of those strategies is apprenticeship. Apprenticeship has evolved — the old model, centered largely in the construction trades and focused on mastering one or two key skills has been replaced. Today, apprenticeship programs are available in a multitude of industries, including information technology (IT), health care and finance, encompassing a multitude of skills. It’s the new way to achieve workforce readiness with mutual benefits for both the employee and the company.

What Is an Apprenticeship?

Apprenticeship is a structured, paid, on-the-job training program combined with classroom instruction that is recognized as college credits. The apprentice works with an experienced professional, gaining practical, hands-on learning for the purpose of a trade, skill or art. Apprentices who successfully complete the apprenticeship are immediately employable, with the top in-demand skills needed by the company.

Developing an apprenticeship program means you no longer need to sift through piles of potential job candidates, hoping you’re recruitment efforts are successful, and then hoping new hires are not only suited for the job, but also stay long-term. An apprenticeship gives training professionals the advantage to create a workforce specifically tailored to company needs.

Benefits to having an internal apprenticeship program.

Apprenticeship programs can have immediate benefits. New hires from an apprenticeship can be more likely to stay. Apprentices are also more productive, as they have the skills to begin work immediately and are already acclimated to the company culture.

Investing in apprenticeship can also elevate the company culture by demonstrating a commitment to high-quality training and continuous learning.

Consider this example:

Exxon Mobil’s Esso subsidiary in Australia, worked with WPC Group, a non-profit workforce intermediary to set up a new apprenticeship program. While management had some concerns, including how the program could affect existing roles and whether it could conform to very specific skill needs, the result exceeded all expectations: 95% of program graduates stayed with Esso, which meant recruitment costs went down to nearly nothing. As a result, the company had a workforce ready to meet its needs.

7 Steps to Launching an Apprenticeship Program

It’s true that creating an apprenticeship program involves a bit of work upfront. To establish an internal apprenticeship program, you need to:

1.    Identify current and future skills gaps.

Assess where your organization is feeling talent shortages now and forecast where gaps may emerge in the next 3–5 years. Align your apprenticeship program with your long-term business strategy.

2.    Define key roles and skills.

Clarify what success looks like in each target role. Outline the technical skills, behaviors, and performance goals needed for each position to ensure your training program is outcome-driven.

3.    Develop a training framework.

Build a structured training program that includes both on-the-job learning and a classroom component. Focus on practical skill-building that supports apprentices in becoming job-ready.

4.    Partner with educators and intermediaries.

Collaborate with community colleges, technical schools, or local associations to deliver accredited instruction. Consider working with intermediaries (like IWSI) to help navigate curriculum development, compliance, and partnerships.

5.    Select and support mentors.

Choose experienced employees who can coach apprentices on the job. Provide them with training and a simple framework to mentor effectively, and offer continued support as the program evolves.

6.    Recruit apprentices strategically.

Engage talent through schools, community groups, and career-changer networks. Emphasize the value of the program as a paid, structured pathway to long-term employment. Recruiting mentors for program apprentices can create additional opportunities. It can give companies a chance to leverage their more experienced employees’ knowledge in a new way.  That could mean a role change, giving new life to a job that may have become routine. And with older employees recruited as mentors, some senior positions could open up for younger employees.

7.    Pilot, measure and improve.

Start small. Monitor apprentice progress and program effectiveness. Use feedback to refine the approach and scale as your workforce and business needs grow.

Intermediary companies can help, too.

But here’s the good news. You don’t have to do it alone. There are many intermediary companies (IWSI is one of them) that specialize in completing the necessary paperwork, bringing stakeholders together and working with employers to develop the skills outline and apprenticeship curriculum. Working with an intermediary greatly reduces the stress of creating an apprenticeship program from scratch.

The benefits cited above are not theoretical.  Modern apprenticeship has already been tried and tested in the real world.  Apprenticeship is a proven way forward for companies that want to maximize their skilled workforce, minimize recruiting costs, create a positive business culture, instill the value of continuous learning and be at the forefront of changing workforce dynamics.  Apprenticeship has been around a long time, but its moment as a key component of the modern work environment has arrived.