Firms turn to apprenticeship as solution to IT hiring woes: Report

More and more companies are turning to apprenticeships as a solution to their hiring woes as a new report published on Friday mentioned that 32% employers are leveraging formal apprenticeships to recruit or train entry-level IT employees and nearly one-fifth (17%) companies are hiring individuals without formal college degree and training them on-the-job.

Increased use of digital technologies, especially the advent of artificial intelligence has sparked a need of being skilled than with degrees alone, the survey, conducted by HCLTech in collaboration with MIT Technology Review Insights mentioned.

Apprenticeships offer a way to hire team members who show an ability to learn the specific skills you're seeking even if they're not there yet.

The researchers stressed on the growing importance of apprenticeship programs that are emerging as a solution to the ongoing talent shortage problem and are seen as a means of nurturing the next generation of the workforce.

Laurel Ruma, Global Director at MIT Technology Review, emphasized the significance of targeting candidates at the outset of their careers, including those who have yet to complete their college education. Ruma stated, "Technology apprenticeships and educational partnerships are increasingly common, offering improved skill matches, higher retention rates, and diversity in the workforce. These initiatives are our competitive edge in securing the future of our industry."

The survey also stressed the importance of targeting early-career candidates, even those who are still pursuing their formal college education, as a way to identify fresh talent and establish new career pathways to solve the growing pressing challenge of finding and retaining IT and tech talent in the face of staffing shortages. Surprisingly, only 32% of the surveyed companies are currently utilizing formal apprenticeships for recruiting or training entry-level employees.

In light of the rapidly evolving technological landscape, there is a growing need for collaboration between tech companies and educational institutions. Subbaraman Balasubramanyan, Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at HCLTech, emphasized the importance of tech companies partnering with engineering and STEM-oriented schools to prepare new graduates for the technology of tomorrow. He stressed that it is vital for tech companies to train young students and make them industry-ready.

According to a Teamlease report published earlier this month: with the advent of new technology (5G, Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and cloud computing etc.) the scope of opportunities for apprentices is going to further increase in the coming here across industries, according to a Teamlease report.

The Internet of Things (IoT) professionals, AI engineer, cloud computing experts, data science engineers/analytics professionals, are the areas in demand when it comes to take in apprentices, it said.

Sumit Kumar, Chief Business Officer of TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, stated, “We believe that apprenticeship programs are the foundation of skilled talent development in the industry.”