One group, the Advance Michigan Center for Apprenticeship Innovation, has joined with its partners to try to change those beliefs. There are almost 16,000 active apprentices collecting a paycheck from Michigan-based companies, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The AMCAI hosted its first 'Apprenticeship in a Day' workshop in April and received a positive response from HR leaders. Patrick Lambrix, the HR manager for TWB Co., based in Monroe, Michigan, attended the workshop.
"We had been toying with the paperwork to register our apprenticeship for the past six months to address the skills gap we're facing, especially as many of our workers near retirement," Lambrix said. Lambrix credited the workshop for helping hammer out the "finer details we needed to address."
"If any business is on the fence about registered apprenticeship, this workshop will be the decisive point for them to move forward," he said.