As the demand for skilled workers continues to outpace supply in NH, the Community College System of NH is seeking to increase the number of apprenticeships in the state to help alleviate the workforce pressure.
Apprenticeships have long been associated with such trades as plumbing, electrical, HVAC and welding, but other industries are now adopting them. With their combination of hands-on training and targeted instruction, registered apprenticeships are an effective way for businesses to acquire new workers or retrain current workers, ensuring they have the skills required to fill open or changing positions.
More than 150,000 businesses have adopted registered apprenticeships nationwide. Now, thanks to a $1.2 million federal grant from the Department of Labor (DOL) to the Community College System of NH (CCSNH), more businesses in the Granite State have an opportunity to participate.
“Registered apprenticeships are a proven way to prepare the next wave of New Hampshire’s workforce for modern, good-paying jobs,” says Lauren Smith, state director at the NH Office of Apprenticeship at the U.S. DOL. “Apprenticeship programs really meet the needs of businesses who are looking for highly skilled employees, or who want to retrain the employees they already have.”
Wanted: Sponsors and Apprentices
The U.S. DOL identifies more than 1,000 occupations suitable for apprenticeships. New Hampshire currently has 310 registered apprenticeship programs, with more than 2,801 apprentices learning on the job. CCSNH is hoping to raise that number significantly via funding by a DOL program called ApprenticeshipUSA. New Hampshire is the first state whose community college system won the grant, with the goal to increase the number of apprenticeships within the information technology, health care and manufacturing sectors.
CCSNH is working closely with NH’s Office of Apprenticeship and partnering with local organizations such as the NH High Tech Council to recruit employers. Jeff Casey, outreach specialist for ApprenticeshipUSA, is leading the recruitment effort on the business side.
“Outreach has already been underway with a focus on the advanced manufacturing and health care sectors. Our job is to listen to the needs of the businesses in terms of the skills they are looking for in the workforce and then helping them build an apprenticeship program specific to that,” Casey explains. “So far the interest in health care and manufacturing has been very strong. Now, we are getting our arms around strategies for recruitment of IT companies.”
In FY 2016, CCSNH added 12 registered apprenticeship programs and enrolled nearly 500 apprentices across all industries. About 187 completed their apprenticeships and have already entered the workforce. So far in 2017, three more health care businesses have sponsored a program, and one advanced manufacturing company has come on board. Casey says there are between 15 and 20 additional companies who are close to sponsoring a program.
The ApprenticeshipUSA grant pays for the majority of apprenticeship programs by awarding apprentices scholarships to enroll at a community college. Sponsor businesses only need to cover the costs involved with the on-the-job training, which they would have to do with any new hire or trainee. They may have to cover some classroom expenses if they choose to have instruction held at their places of business, such as the costs of hosting the students there for a certain number of hours a day and having a room available for them.
The business is also responsible for paying the apprentices. This is usually at a lower rate than what they would pay a fully accredited person in that role. If it’s a case where they are re-training incumbent workers for a new job, they are paid the same rate they were making in their old role until they complete the program. Costs for businesses to participate vary widely depending on what they need, number of hours of instruction and whether they decide to have the apprentices enroll at a community college or have the classroom instruction in-house.
Creating Opportunities
Part of the ApprenticeshipUSA grant requires CCSNH to target apprentices from under-represented populations in the state, such as veterans, disabled residents, minorities, refugees and low-income residents. To assist with outreach to these populations and to facilitate their participation, CCSNH requested proposals from organizations that could help. They ultimately selected Easter Seals. The nonprofit will recruit diverse apprentice candidates and provide support services, such as childcare, transportation and, in some cases, housing for candidates.
“Our role is to provide wrap-around services to people who are good candidates for apprenticeships but have some kind of barrier that is making it difficult for them to get into the program,” says Jeanne Venuti, diversity program project coordinator and coordinator of employment services for the Seacoast region for Easter Seals. “So far, the response across the state has been overwhelming. We’ve referred 65 candidates since the beginning of September.”
Apprenticeships in the Works
LRGHealthcare, a health-care system representing Lakes Region General Hospital, Franklin Regional Hospital and 22 affiliated medical practices, recently completed its first registered apprenticeship program with seven LRGHealthcare employees enrolled.
“We had an ongoing need for qualified medical assistants, but we weren’t finding qualified applicants from outside of our facility,” says Cass Walker, vice president of administrative and supportive services for LRG-Healthcare. “We heard about the registered apprenticeship program from Chris Callahan at Exeter Hospital and started thinking about how we could implement a program here.”
Kevin Donovan, president and CEO at LRGHealthcare, says that the hospital needed help with putting all the resources together. “We knew we had some great employees with the right attitude who would be perfect candidates to become medical assistants, but they didn’t have the luxury to take 12 weeks unpaid to enroll in a traditional medical program,” he says. “Apprenticeship was the ideal way to invest in these employees and still allow them to work. All of the resources were there, we just needed CCSNH to help us bring it all together.”
The program at LRGHealthcare has enabled seven licensed nursing assistants to upgrade their skills in a relatively short amount of time through hands-on training and classroom instruction at Lakes Region Community College. Additionally, the apprentices receive training from WorkReady NH in the “soft skills” of the job, such as communicating with patients.
Walker says that LRGHealthcare is already working on a second cohort for the same apprenticeship program, which will start in November. They’re also looking at launching a separate apprenticeship program that will focus on training new candidates who aren’t already working for the organization. “We want to open it up to the community and sponsor a program that will train people to become LNAs and MAs [medical assistants],” she says.
Teleflex Medical OEM, a medical device manufacturer in Jaffrey, is also using apprenticeships aimed at its existing workforce. The 24-week program kicked off in October and will train 15 current Teleflex employees who demonstrate the potential to move into a higher-level position but lack the education required for the job.
The instructional portion of the apprenticeship will be handled by River Valley Community College, based in Claremont, and will cover such skills as machine tool maintenance, troubleshooting and repair, manufacturing components, safety and OSHA requirements, and the fundamentals of understanding blueprint specifications.
“We are just getting our feet wet with the registered apprenticeship concept, but if this pilot program goes well, we are considering opening it up to the whole company and possibly the surrounding community in Jaffrey,” says Jennifer Robichaud, human resources manager for Teleflex Medical OEM. “This is a way for us to make more investments in our workforce and give them the deeper training they need to move up in their advanced manufacturing careers.”
Walker at LRGHealthcare has this advice for businesses considering a registered apprenticeship: “If you’re in a line of work that is well-suited for apprenticeship, this is a nontraditional way to make sure you have the workforce you need, for today and tomorrow. Our experience with the people at CCSNH, and all the other people in this support system, has been terrific. I think it comes down to understanding what skills your employees need to know and then working together with the instructors to help them get there.”
Defining Apprenticeships
It’s important to note that not all apprenticeships are equal. Registered apprenticeships through a business or a community college are recognized by the state. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, a registered apprenticeship must meet the following criteria:
Employer-driven: Employers, or “sponsors,” are the foundation of every apprenticeship program. A sponsor business guides the overall operation of the program. Sponsors can be a single business or a consortium of businesses. They can also be a range of workforce intermediaries, including an industry association or a joint labor-management organization. For example, in NH, the electricians’ union sponsors apprenticeships. Sponsoring businesses provide input on the curriculum built by the instructors.
Structured, On-The-Job Training: This is the element of a registered apprenticeship that makes it so effective. The minimum number of hours of hands-on training in the state of NH is 2,000, but this can vary depending on the trade. For example, toolmakers and machine maintenance apprentices must have 8,000 hours of on-the-job training. Unlike traditional internships at a university, apprentices are paid for their time on the job. Once the apprenticeship is complete, that pay typically increases, depending on the industry.
Related Instruction: Thousands of hours of on-the-job training is important, but a registered apprenticeship must also have an element of classroom instruction. The minimum is 144 hours, but this too can vary depending on the trade. Education partners collaborate with the sponsor business to develop a specific curriculum for the apprentice. The related instruction is provided by accredited teachers from community colleges, technical schools or by apprenticeship training schools. In some cases, the classroom instruction can be given by the sponsor business. It can be delivered at a school, online or at the job site depending on what the sponsor business needs.
Many apprenticeship programs include the opportunity to earn college credits that can be applied to a degree while accumulating little to no student loan debt. Apprentices can also qualify for state or federal grants or scholarships to enroll in a program.
The Apprenticeship Economy
Employees who complete a registered apprenticeship earn average annual starting salaries of $60,000, per WorkReady NH. And because training is on-the-job, apprentices learn more than just the technical skills required in a specific field—they also learn “soft skills,” such as team building, collaboration and communication, including how to respond to feedback from managers. As part of these Community College System of NH apprenticeships, WorkReady NH offers 24 hours of soft skills training for apprentices.
Employers reap the rewards, too. “For every dollar spent on apprenticeships, employers get an average of $1.47 back in increased productivity,” says Charlotte Williams, community workforce development manager at CCSNH. “And 91 percent of apprentices are employed after completing
their program.”
Some NH businesses and organizations currently sponsoring apprenticeships include:
• Dartmouth-Hitchcock
• Denron Plumbing and HVAC, LLC
• Exeter Health Resources
• Great Bay Community College
• Hypertherm
• LRGHealthcare
• NH Department of Education
• Portsmouth Naval Ship Yard
• Teleflex Medical OEM
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