An apprenticeship is a traditional way of passing knowledge from one mentor to a pupil. In the past, especially in the Middle Ages, apprenticeships were the primary means of how a master craftsman taught skills to a younger worker. Today, learning from a mentor has become more critical than ever
According to Forbes, most Americans agree that “earning while learning,” the typical model of an apprenticeship, makes people more employable than going to college. The US Department of Labor echoes this view and says that registered apprenticeships and internships provide workers with a path to the middle class.
With the rising popularity of apprenticeships, the labor department declared November 15 to November 21 this year as Apprenticeship Week, and Divergence Academy joins in celebrating this notable period.
Divergence Academy provides apprenticeship opportunities to its learners, giving them valuable real-world work experience before they set foot in the office.
Start learning with Divergence Academy.Divergence Academy’s Apprenticeship and Internship Programs
The term “apprenticeship” used to be associated with blue-collar work, such as welding and plumbing. However, this view has changed.
The labor department and apprenticeship.gov describe apprenticeship as “an industry-driven, high-quality career pathway where employers can develop and prepare their future workforce, and individuals can obtain paid work experience, classroom instruction, and a portable, nationally recognized credential.”
It’s become a crucial stepping stone, especially in the tech industry.
Cybersecurity Analyst Apprenticeship
Divergence Academy, a leading vocational trade school for emerging tech, understands the role of apprenticeships in building a tech talent pipeline. They offer a two-year Cybersecurity Analyst Apprenticeship, working closely with employers to provide on-the-job training (OJT) for students studying cybersecurity. That program complements the extensive training students receive inside the classroom.
In the first year of the apprenticeship, students acquire various cybersecurity certifications such as CompTIA Cloud +, CompTIA Network +, and EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker. During this time, the employer provides students with 2,000 hours of paid OJT.
In the second year of apprenticeship, students receive additional skills training to become EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA) and EC-Council Certified Incident Handler (ECIH). Again, the employer will provide the student with an additional 2,000 hours of paid OJT.
This program benefits all parties involved. While students are guaranteed continued learning and financial benefits, employers can tap into a pool of highly-skilled cybersecurity talent and develop them to ensure a good fit with the company.
Students can earn and learn in a real-world setting while also continuing their classroom training. Through this program, they gain vital tech skills that can lead to full-time employment. For Divergence Academy, the program is in line with its goal of becoming “the world’s best vocational tech trade school.”
Bowsprit Internship Program
Aside from the apprenticeship program, Divergence Academy also offers a paid internship program called Bowsprit. The school believes students need opportunities to gain work experience, so it pairs interested students and alumni with real-world projects to help businesses.
Rachael Ridenour, the resident Business Intelligence Analyst for Machine Learning and Process Automation at Divergence Academy, said the program helps students get familiar with the real world.
“The idea behind Bowsprit is to help every participant reinforce their new training with additional real-world, on-the-job work, which serves as a great value add to their resume or LinkedIn portfolio,” she said.
The Bowsprit program has two goals:
- To provide more real-life, on-the-job work scenarios to deepen the retention of new training and prep them for new career roles, and;
- To facilitate the learner’s hiring process, since most employers seek candidates who possess on-the-job experience.
Interns work in-house at Divergence Academy or get the opportunity to work with local companies such as Power Central, VIP Clouds, and Duke.AI. The program consists of 120 hours of lessons for over six weeks. During the internship, Divergence Academy students and alumni create projects to solve real-world business problems.
Learners are encouraged to see Bowsprit as more than just a task to get a passing mark. Rather, it’s an opportunity to translate what they learn in the classroom into a project that solves business problems while showing off their professional skills.
Don Snyder and Quintan Gee are two Divergence Academy Data Science alumni who participated in Bowsprit. They were tasked to build a database of shipped learners’ kits and the inventory of Divergence Labs, where students can check out different materials. Don and Quintan were also assigned to create an inventory application that would allow the school to add, track, and report shipped inventory.
After studying a problem and creating a database, they realized they needed to build three apps, not just one. They discovered three separate use cases and decided to build an app for each use case. Similar to real-world projects, Don and Quintan adjusted their project based on what the problem required.
The hands-on experience from Bowsprit equips participants with the tools and skills they need to understand and realize their professional goals. The program provides their resume and portfolio with actual work experience, which many employers require. In a nutshell, the Bowsprit program reinforces a participant’s skills to start a new tech career.
“It’s really hard to take a cutting edge immersion program and real-world experience and not find a job. We’ve had several students, mid-Bowsprit, get job offers from external companies. I think that’s a great way for me to tell you goodbye,” said Rachael.
Future of Work
To continuously bridge the skills gap in tech through apprenticeship and internship programs, Divergence Academy also offers its “Future of Work” series. This platform creates and mobilizes productive dialogue between Sravan and industry leaders with shared interests, including various HR and Talent acquisition heads.
The first episode’s guest is Michael Pett, Head of Military and Veteran Programs from Uber.
During the conversation, Michael said that Uber’s partnership with Divergence Academy helps the company solve the problem of veterans not receiving enough guidance to land a job at top tech companies like Uber. He also talked about the importance of an apprenticeship.
“Apprenticeships and apprenticeships models give us the avenue to grow our talent organically. These programs provide the [apprentice] the time to ramp up and fine-tune their skill set, learn the company’s culture and value systems while getting all of that in a hands-on way,” Michael said.
He further explained that apprenticeships are a great way to cultivate homegrown talent. Participants learn skill sets, are introduced to the company culture, and the apprentice is also given the opportunity to grow internally.
“It’s a great way to prevent ‘talent tennis’, which very much exists in the marketplace—where we’re taking folks from competitors, or they’re leaving our shop to go to our competitors,” he said.
Through the “Future of Work” series, Divergence Academy starts conversations with industry leaders on shared goals to drive business growth and bridge the skills gap through apprenticeship and internship programs.
In line with Divergence Academy’s focus on 21st-century skills and the future of work, founder and president Sravan Ankaraju has written his first book “Hackers and Heroes: How Everyone Can Participate in the Tech Economy”. The book discusses the rapid technological change already underway in the workplace.
Readers can get inspiration from Sravan’s own story of finding success as an immigrant in America and also be encouraged to prepare themselves to thrive in the new tech economy. The book also aims to help readers navigate their way through employment uncertainty.
How Divergence Academy Celebrates the National Apprenticeship Week
National Apprenticeship Week was first observed in November 2015. It was established to celebrate the role of apprenticeships in helping workers earn money while learning new skills and growing the economy.
This year, the US Department of Labor is celebrating National Apprenticeship Week from November 15 to November 21. The celebration allows business leaders, educational institutions, career seekers, and other partners to demonstrate support for apprenticeships.
Divergence Academy covers how apprenticeships prepare a highly-skilled, diverse workforce to meet the talent needs of employers and train workers for well-paying jobs in multiple industries.
Since it started, National Apprenticeship Week has initiated over 5,000 events, 700 proclamations, and 470,000 attendees have participated in various events across the country. During these events, participants promote apprenticeship awareness, showcase innovation, explore workplace solutions, and identify partnership opportunities.
Divergence Academy believes in the power and impact of apprenticeships and joins thousands of other participants in celebrating this momentous week.
The Rise of Apprenticeships
Apprenticeship programs are growing in popularity and with good reason. These programs help form a highly-skilled workforce that meets employers’ specific needs in various industries, including tech. They build valuable talent pipelines and help close the skills gap.
If you want to learn more about Divergence Academy, visit their complete list of courses.
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