The Chamber realizes that in today’s rapidly evolving job market, workforce development is critical to inclusive economic growth and stability in our region and beyond. Thus, talent and workforce initiatives – including bringing employers and talent together – are key to achieving our Chamber 2028 vision.
One such initiative is ApprenticeshipPHL, a public/private initiative powered by Philadelphia Works, which supports the expansion of Registered Apprenticeship and Pre-Apprenticeship in Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties. The Chamber’s Talent and Workforce team has partnered with ApprenticeshipPHL to foster workforce development and strengthen the sustainability of our regional talent pipeline.
The Proven Power of Partnerships
In a group sponsored apprenticeship program, several employers with similar talent needs come together to create a program operated by a registered sponsor. The apprentices work for individual company employers, but the group sponsor oversees the program, including administrative tasks.
The group sponsor can be any company, institution, or organization that is registered as an apprenticeship program sponsor through the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) or an approved state Apprenticeship Agency.
Rennia Rodney, Coordinator, Talent Strategies, the Chamber, said group sponsorship apprenticeships create a win-win situation for employers and talent.
“Employers gain access to a diverse talent pool, while apprentices receive hands-on experience and nationally recognized credentials,” she explained.
Convening through Apprenticeship Accelerator Programs
Through our ApprenticeshipPHL partnership, the Chamber helps to convene our regional business community and bring awareness to the group sponsor apprenticeship program model as an effective and efficient way for employers to support workforce development and collectively grow the region’s talent pool. Part of a larger series from ApprenticeshipPHL, these programs are designed to help employers overcome skilled worker challenges by upskilling through apprenticeship.
Most recently, on Thursday, June 20, 2024, ApprenticeshipPHL hosted its fourth Apprenticeship Accelerator event at the Chamber, titled “Leveraging the Strength of Group Sponsorship” and featuring a panel discussion with local employers and sponsors currently collaborating in group apprenticeship programs, including Drexel University, Pennsylvania College of Technology, PA Restaurant and Lodging Association, Universal Academy, and the German-American Chamber of Commerce, Philadelphia.
Learn More from a Regional Expert
In addition, Rodney recently sat down with Jessica Randall, Apprentice Programs Manager, Drexel University, to discuss the advantages and impact of group sponsored apprenticeship programs.
Drexel University, through its Goodwin College of Professional Studies, currently oversees two group sponsored apprenticeship programs.
Q: Can you please describe the role of a group sponsor?
A: We have several responsibilities as apprenticeship sponsors. First, it is to create structures and systems which support the apprentice in having the most positive, fruitful learning experience during their apprenticeship. This means creating a fair application process for the apprentices, supporting employers with apprenticeship education and communication, monitoring apprentice’s formal education such that it actively works to prepare them for their credentialing exams, etc. Past this, we support employers with coordinating additional financial support to assist them in running their on-the-job training.
Q: Why did Drexel decide to act as a sponsor for group apprenticeship programs?
A: A group model apprenticeship was the most natural fit for our apprenticeship work. Although Drexel University can act as an employer for both programs, a group apprenticeship allows us to serve more apprentices and employers outside of ourselves. In addition, both of our apprenticeships functionally look very different. One is cohort-based, and another is cluster-based. One includes employers with multiple apprentices at once, whereas the other might include only one or two apprentices per company at a time. All these variations considered, a group model allows us to bring multiple employers to the table to strategize around their particular needs and provide programs that best solve their talent shortages.
Q: How do you work with employers to run the apprenticeship program?
A: I’d say this is a three-step process. First, we have exploratory and educational conversations. Typically, folks are familiar with apprentices through the trades, which is a great reference point, so we use that point of familiarity to discuss the ways in which apprentices have expanded to different industries outside of the trades. Because that model is so well known and respected in that industry, that often generates interest from employers, and they want to get engaged. Next, we discuss how they might want to staff their apprentices, and we let employers guide that conversation. Sometimes, upskilling might be the best solution for them; other times, they’re interested in interviewing brand new talent. Finally, we support the employers in executing the apprentices whether that means providing supportive services to apprentices, having challenging conversations, or supporting them in ensure their on-the-job training plan is working well.
Q: What are some of the benefits you’ve seen from having a group-sponsored program?
A: Part of the beauty of group-sponsored programs is that they’re written to be more generally approachable versus an apprenticeship that might be written for a single employer. For example, a dental office might write a dental assistant apprenticeship to serve their own specific office needs whereas a purposefully written group-sponsored apprenticeship will likely be written more broadly so that multiple employers can take advantage and participate, thereby alleviating the effort on their part to write and register an apprenticeship, which can be timely and labor intensive.
Q: What are some resources you have used and that you would recommend in developing the program?
A: There are some great resources I’d start with in thinking about developing an apprenticeship, but I’ll keep it to my personal top three. First, Keystone Development Partnership’s Navigator’s Program is a yearlong apprenticeship program with the purpose of training people to be experts in apprenticeship. Not only is that program excellent, but they’re an incredibly knowledgeable group of people. My second would be the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry’s Apprenticeship’s website. This website lets you sort through apprentice occupations and on-the-job training lists to think about what your industry might need. My third would be apprenticeshipstandards.org, which is an excellent repository of samples of already registered programs.
Q: What are some best practices and lessons learned in developing or joining a group-sponsored program?
A: Work smart, not hard and don’t reinvent the wheel! I know those are generic phrases, but they’re so true for apprenticeship. In developing these programs, part of the nature of apprenticeships is that the training should be portable, meaning whatever you learned, and the certifications earned are meaningful no matter which state you might be in. That said, there are many pre-written and registered programs for the same or similar occupations you can work off, so no need to start from scratch! If you’re joining one, just join it! It’s always worth it to try something new, especially when the hard work has already been done!
Get Involved in the Chamber’s Talent and Workforce Initiatives
The Chamber, through Select Greater Philadelphia, focuses on workforce development for economic growth and sustainability. One of the ways it does so it by working in tandem with organizations, including ApprenticeshipPHL to help Greater Philadelphia businesses attract, grow, and retain talent.
For more information about group sponsored apprenticeship programs, including a list of programs throughout the Southeastern Pennsylvania region, visit ApprenticePHL.org. For information on how the Chamber can support your organization with a variety of talent solutions, contact Rennia Rodney, Coordinator, Talent Strategies, at rrodney@chamberphl.com.
