EMPLOYERS

Have Questions About Apprenticeship? Discover how your business can benefit and how you can get involved.

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Do you find it difficult to recruit and retain quality, skilled, enthusiastic workers?

As an employer, what are you to do? Apprenticeship is a time-tested approach to training and developing skilled labor that pairs on-the-job training with classroom instruction, and it may be the solution to your woes.

Gear Up is a formal system of registered apprenticeship administered by the U.S. Department of Labor. Through Gear Up, we work with you to develop a training program designed to meet your specific needs by providing the apprentice with structured on-the-job learning, related instruction and a progressive wage scale. Workers at the company who complete an apprenticeship earn state and national credentials certifying their skills. Explore Apprenticeship to find out if Gear Up is right for you.

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Benefits

As a Gear Up Employer Partner, your business will:

  • Reduce search and recruitment costs and quickly attract top talent to fill those hard-to-fill roles. 
  • Customize training to meet the unique needs of your business and ensure that employees develop the right skills.
  • Increase productivity and gain a competitive edge as apprentices learn portable skills while they earn industry credentials.
  • Gain and retain loyal and engaged employees.
  • Reduce onboarding costs through Gear Up grants, including up to six months of salary assistance to offset costs for work-based learning and necessary supplies.
  • Get support in designing, developing, and implementing your apprenticeship program.
  • Easily integrate Gear Up into your organization’s current training and human resource development strategies.
  • Apprentices can be new hires – or your company can select current employees to join the apprenticeship program.
  • There’s never a fee to participate.

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Apprenticeship Programs Offer Particular Benefits to Companies

The benefit to Company % of Respondents

  • Increasing employees’ skills flexibility 82%
  • Improving productivity 72%
  • Finding qualified candidates for employment 66%
  • Improving employee retention 65%
  • Reducing wage costs 34%

Source: NCApprenticeship Survey — October 2020

What is an Apprenticeship?

Apprenticeship is an industry-driven career pathway where employers develop and prepare their future workforce by combining customized, on-the-job training with related classroom instruction using the highest industry standards. It is a proven, time-tested system for recruiting, training and retaining a competitive workforce with business-specific skills.

Why Should You Partner with the Gear Up Apprenticeship Program?

As a business leader, you strive to move your company forward. To do that, you actively seek bold, new ideas and solutions to everyday challenges like talent recruitment and retention. GuilfordWorks created this program to answer that need.

The Gear Up program provides a flexible approach to training tailored to meet the distinct needs of your business.

Registered apprenticeships have proven to be the most effective training model for enhancing a company’s performance and competitiveness. When you participate in the Gear Up program, you develop and strengthen your workforce while improving the company’s productivity and profitability. And, you leverage an established framework and supporter network that manages the overall operation of your apprenticeship program. So, you can get started almost immediately.

What Issues Does Apprenticeship Help Solve?

Businesses face significant challenges in their efforts to expand, innovate, and thrive. These workforce challenges undermine productivity and profitability. Automation or technical innovation alone can’t overcome these hurdles. So, GuilfordWorks created the Gear Up program, not only as a response to those issues but also to resolve more widespread challenges like:

Challenge
Solution
An aging workforce of experienced workers.
Customize training to meet the unique needs of your business and ensure that seasoned employees mentor/develop your new talent.
Attracting new and more diverse talent.
Ease search and recruitment costs and attract top talent for those hard-to-fill roles quickly.
Investing in talent that can contend with the latest industry advancements.
Create flexible training options that ensure workers develop the right skills.
Increasing employees’ skills and credentials.
Improve productivity and gain a competitive edge as apprentices learn to earn industry credentials.
The cost of hiring and training new staff.
Reduce onboarding costs through Gear Up grants, including up to six months of salary assistance to offset costs for work-based learning and necessary supplies.
The loss of talent in the workforce over time.
Increase retention of employees during and following the apprenticeship.
Implementing workforce training models that effectively develop and “up-skill” talent.
Get support in designing, developing, and implementing your apprenticeship program from GuilfordWorks and NCWorks staff.
Gear Up | ASAP is an effective solution for recruiting, training, and retaining skilled talent, allowing your businesses to succeed. 

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Basic Expectations

There are primary responsibilities placed on Gear Up Employer Partners. Read all about them before committing to the program.

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Apprenticeship Industries

Check out other local industries that are leveraging apprenticeships to access valuable resources.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Have questions about apprenticeship? What about Gear Up? Check to see if your questions have previously been answered.

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