Apprenticeship

Questions from businesses

How can an apprenticeship program benefit your employees and business?

Our full-time staff gain valuable experience managing and mentoring our apprentices, which helps employees develop stronger managerial skills and further strengthens our organizational leadership capacity.

In what ways can an apprenticeship program help your business in the short term?

We have found that our hardworking apprentices contribute thousands of hours through meaningful and cost-effective work that helps Pinnacol raise our operational bandwidth.

Apprentice participants lighten the load for more seasoned employees, allowing them greater concentration on the more technical parts of their jobs.

What about long-term business benefits?

Often, apprentice graduates finish the program ready to work for you and meet — and sometimes exceed — your talent needs.

The time spent in the program allows apprentices to understand your company culture and expectations, and so they become productive their very first day as full-time employees.

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What is a typical day like for apprenticeship program staff?

Each day, our program staff collaborates with internal stakeholders, apprentice coaches, supervisors and leaders to keep the program running smoothly. Other duties include:

Preparing content and curriculum or training for apprentices.
Evaluating apprentice training progress and competency growth.
Conducting one-on-one performance management meetings with apprentices.
Communicating about programming with CareerWise Colorado and external partners.
Managing the logistical aspects of the program time requests, scheduling and data collection.
Assessing and evaluating organizational talent needs to ensure apprentices are developing necessary and relevant skills.
Assisting supervisors and coaches with apprentice training and apprentice support functions.

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How do you promote community building among the apprenticeship cohorts?

Facilitating connections between students from different schools and backgrounds is a key part of helping the program succeed.

We conduct weekly group apprentice meetings in addition to our other community building efforts, including:

Weekly cohort time.
Group projects.
Joint training and shadowing opportunities.
Fun events for holidays and graduations.

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How do you find the right team or discipline to match an apprentice’s skills?

We stay nimble and aim to provide a wide range of exposure across departments at Pinnacol to help with the placement process.

Apprentices begin as generalists, exploring various short-term placement opportunities that align with their interests.

During their second year, apprentices are then able to select a long-term pathway that not only best suits their skills and interests, but also can help lead to employment opportunities after the program.

Have you hired apprentices full-time after their apprenticeships?

Yes. Our aim is to prepare our apprentices for promising careers at Pinnacol.

Each year several apprentices are hired as valued full-time Pinnacol team members in various roles across the organization.

How can my business learn more about hosting an apprenticeship program?

Pinnacol has seen firsthand the value an apprenticeship program can add to your business, with a high level of return on investment.

Contact CareerWise Colorado to learn more about hosting a program.

What investments should businesses expect to make in a new apprenticeship program?

The overhead investment for the program is contingent upon the model and the design of the organization.

At a minimum, businesses should be prepared to cover the salary and supplemental training costs of each apprentice.

At scale, considerations like dedicated staff are warranted. Our experience is that approximately a 1:10 program staff to apprentice ratio is a best practice.

What does Pinnacol’s apprenticeship program team look like?

Our team consists of three staff members, including a program lead, manager and coordinator.

Each team member supports various aspects of the program from visioning and program design to program implementation and execution.

Typical Pinnacol Apprenticeship Program timeline:

January: Applications open for the apprenticeship program.
March: Application window closes.
February to April: Apprentice interviews and hiring.
June to July: Apprentices attend preparatory courses and training provided by CareerWise Colorado and other local institutions.
August: Apprentices begin the program on-site at Pinnacol.
Year 1: Apprentices work 16 hours per week while attending high school.
Year 2: Apprentices work 16-24 hours per week. They also may attend high school or college classes, depending on their academic progress.
Year 3: Apprentices work 24+ hours per week. They also may attend college classes.
‍Year 4: Apprentices begin full-time employment (as applicable).

Find your path with a Pinnacol Apprenticeship

Find your path with a Pinnacol Apprenticeship

General questions

Future apprentices

Questions from businesses

Questions from businesses