An Internship Program Investing In The Future

A conversation with Jennifer Carlson,
Co-Founder & Executive Director at Apprenti/WTIA Workforce Institute

Listen + Subscribe.

About the episode

In this episode of, Jennifer Carlson, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Apprenti, discusses how her apprentice program helps enterprise companies increase diversity while meeting their aggressive headcount needs in the midst of a tech skills shortage.

Apprenti blends classroom learning with on-the-job training, preparing apprentices to fill mid-level roles (software dev, cybersecurity, tech sales, cloud ops). Most apprentices are members of the BIPOC community, women, veterans and people who don’t have a formal CS education but who demonstrate ability in math and critical thinking.

Carlson works by unearthing hidden potential. For instance, upon meeting with one applicant, a Burger King manager, she dug deeper to find he was actually doing supply chain management. While a “Burger King manager” resume wouldn’t see the light of day at a typical tech company, his history of solving complex problems landed him an apprenticeship.

Resources –

apprenticareers.org

Highlights

From This Episode

Tech roles outpace the number of CS graduates coming from U.S. colleges
Less than 5% of the national tech workforce is composed of people from BIPOC communities versus 56% of Apprenti applicants
84% of the program's apprentices stay at the company in which they’ve been placed
Upskilling apprentices is fiscally responsible; it costs less than acquiring new talent through traditional sourcing and recruiter fees
How to work with Apprenti

Subscribe To Technically People.

Follow us on your favorite podcast player, or just search for “Technically People” wherever you listen.