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When Alli Mihalka was a sophomore at Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo in 2020, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do for a career. She played cello but didn’t think she could earn a living in music. She was also shy but wanted some way to express her inner extrovert. 

Then she heard about the experience industry management program at Cal Poly, developed in collaboration with George P. Johnson Experience Marketing (GPJ). The program offered real-world experience in design, marketing, and event planning. 

Alli loved the idea of event planning, which resonated with that inner extrovert. So she switched her major. And in doing so, she hopped on the inside track to GPJ’s Ignite program, a six-month paid apprenticeship. She applied her senior year and was placed in the company’s San Francisco office, where she worked with a mentor, attended professional development sessions, and learned valuable skills while helping clients and spearheading a project for a new development in San Francisco. 

And at the end, she was offered a full-time job — which was the whole point of the program. “Most people are looking to be hired after an apprenticeship or internship,” Alli says. “So, I think it’s awesome that GPJ gives that opportunity to as many people as they can.” 

Professional apprenticeships are on the rise 

For years, apprenticeships have been a common path to employment in Europe. More than half of German high school graduates enter the workforce via apprenticeships, and last year the United Kingdom had 560,000 apprentices. But in the United States, apprenticeships are usually the domain of the skilled trades, such as plumbing, electrical, and construction work.  

That’s changing. Apprenticeships — of all kinds — have doubled in the U.S. since 2014. And there’s been a 57% rise in the portion of those apprenticeships that are for nonconstruction roles. 

Apprenticeships are a win-win solution: At the same time that employers are struggling with a shrinking workforce, many young people are daunted by the cost of college. Apprenticeships offer a path to a livable wage without taking on huge student debt. In a labor market that is also especially tough for recent college graduates, they offer a way to break into an industry or career.  

In 2020, the professional services firm Aon announced it would invest $30 million in its apprenticeship program over the next five years, with the goal of creating 10,000 apprenticeships by 2030. The program includes three tracks: insurance, HR, and IT. And in 2022, IBM pledged to put $250 million toward apprenticeship and other “new collar” programs by 2025.   

But you don’t have to be an enterprise organization to launch a successful apprenticeship. We recently spoke to one smaller and one larger company to learn how they successfully launched programs. Here are their tips. 

1. Be clear about what you’re trying to achieve 

Companies usually start apprenticeship programs for one of two reasons: to increase their talent pipeline or to create more diversity in their workforce. For Kris Skavish, co-CEO of Two Octobers in Denver, Colorado, it was both. Two Octobers is a small digital marketing company, with 10 to 15 employees at any given time.  

Several years ago, her firm decided to become a B Corp. A B Corp is a company with a certification showing that it’s committed to balancing profit with a social and/or environmental purpose. As part of the application, Two Octobers had to demonstrate their commitment to becoming more diverse. Kris tried posting open roles to websites aimed at a more diverse talent pool and removing implicit bias from postings. But it didn’t move the needle.

“My business partner was visiting some friends over Christmas in Switzerland,” she says, “and he got to talking with his friend about how much different the education and on-ramp to work is in Switzerland. Apprenticeship is a big part of what they do there — and not just for blue-collar industries.”

Two Octobers already spent about 18 months training, developing, and mentoring junior talent, which meant they knew what to do. So, in 2020, they created a three-year apprenticeship program in digital marketing. They removed degree requirements, reached out to local workforce centers (government agencies that help people find jobs), and hired two digital marketing apprentices.

2. Consider creating a registered apprenticeship 

One path to apprenticeships that companies in the U.S. may want to consider is a registered apprenticeship. Two Octobers did this, setting up a registered apprenticeship through the U.S. Department of Labor. Why? Because they wanted to create something that could have a real impact on their apprentices’ careers. 

The standards for a registered apprenticeship are high: The company must provide structured on-the-job training, mentorship, and supplemental classroom education, as well as pay for work. Upon completion of the program, apprentices receive a nationally recognized credential.

One bonus of registering your apprenticeship is that many states provide resources for companies with apprentice programs. Starting this year, for example, Colorado — where Two Octobers is located — will provide a $12,000 tax credit for each apprentice. “Registered apprenticeships,” Kris says, “come with either that kind of financial support or resources like the workforce center, both of which really helped us flesh things out.” 

3. Set up a formal program that includes educational opportunities and real work 

GPJ, a global experience marketing agency with 750 employees, started its Ignite program as an internship in its San Francisco office in 2014, with a single participant. Since then, it’s grown into a structured apprenticeship with about 30 participants each year across all eight U.S. offices and expanding globally, says Brittany Papciak, GPJ’s director of talent development.  

The program has flourished in part because of its collaboration with Cal Poly. But the apprenticeship is open to everyone from early-career workers to returners to career changers, and the competition is fierce: Last year, more than 200 people applied for 30 slots. 

It helps that GPJ has put a lot of thought into the structure and timeline of the program. Before apprentices arrive, the company offers training to the managers and stakeholders who will be working with them. Once apprentices arrive, the participants go through a two-week onboarding process — one so effective, Brittany says, the company now uses it for all new hires. 

Throughout the six-month program, apprentices also receive professional development sessions, mentorship, peer mentorship, and plenty of hands-on work under the guidance of a manager. “So,” Brittany says, “there’s a wide range of support for them to be successful.” 

4. Use metrics to track the success of your program 

Both Two Octobers and GPJ measure the effectiveness of their apprenticeship programs to make sure the participants are staying on track. 

For Two Octobers, these metrics are a requirement of their registered apprenticeship: They have to set milestones for both learning goals and accomplishments. “We have to track how our apprentices are moving through the skills we want them to learn,” Kris says. “Have they been exposed to it? Have they mastered it?” 

GPJ tracks apprentices’ progress too, by soliciting feedback from managers and others, asking how well the onboarding prepared participants for their apprentice work and for a full-time role. They also query apprentices about their experience. 

But the most important metric, of course, is how many apprentices are converted to full-time employees. This metric was complicated for Two Octobers; market forces caused them to reduce their staff, which made it impossible to retain their apprentices much beyond their program completion date. (They plan to hire more apprentices soon, though for a one-year program instead.) But GPJ hired more than 60% of its cohort in 2024 and more than 85% in 2023. And for those that they didn’t hire, they helped them update their resumes and prep for interviews — and even provided connections at other companies.

Final thoughts: An apprenticeship program benefits other workers too 

While professional apprenticeships offer many benefits — workers can learn valuable skills and companies can create new talent pipelines — they also offer something less tangible. 

“Part of the fun of having apprentices,” Kris says, “was that a lot of our team members were really eager to be involved in their training and collaborate with them on projects. There was a  real benefit to feeling like we were helping somebody and contributing to their career growth.”

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