Small Businesses Benefit from Inclusive Apprenticeships
Many employers invest in making their workplaces more diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible, including small business leaders. At the same time, organizations large and small — particularly those in growing industries such as clean energy, healthcare, information technology, cybersecurity and finance — find it very challenging to attract talented workers.
Any organization that makes inclusion a priority and actively recruits apprenticeship graduates, especially those with disabilities, can save time and money throughout all stages of the employment process. Inclusive apprenticeship programs that focus on hiring people with disabilities can offer key benefits for employers and other organizations that sponsor apprenticeships. Apprenticeship programs can also bring financial benefits that positively affect a business’s bottom line. For example, employers in North Carolina who provided data on their Registered Apprenticeship Programs yielded, on average, a 170% return on investment. These programs enable job seekers with disabilities to gain credentials and lifelong skills to succeed in high-growth, high-demand industries.
The Partnership on Inclusive Apprenticeship has released a new resource on The Value of Inclusive Apprenticeships to help employers understand the benefits of creating inclusive apprenticeship programs. It offers tips for calculating the return on investment of inclusive apprenticeship programs. It also describes the steps employers of all sizes can take to create an apprenticeship program, resources for making that program inclusive of people with disabilities, and information on how to fund an inclusive apprenticeship program.
To learn more, read The Value of Inclusive Apprenticeships. If you are a small business leader seeking more information about developing or improving an inclusive apprenticeship program, contact PIA at info@inclusiveapprenticeship.org.