When a solar company hires an apprentice, the stated expectation is that the apprentice gets to put into practice what they have learned from their training. What is not often stressed is how much the company stands to gain from hiring an apprentice.
It is widely known and agreed that some level of experience is paramount to be considered a suitable candidate for most jobs or roles especially when these jobs pertain to specialized and technical industries like solar energy. It is very unlikely that a solar company looking to hire engineers would hire people who do not have any practical experience or exposure to installations and solar engineering.
However, young professionals still need to break into the industry notwithstanding the stipulated years of experience advertised by companies. This is how apprenticeships come in.
Simply put, an apprentice is anyone who is trying to learn on the job. Apprentices have little to no experience and use their apprenticeship periods to practice what they have learned either in school or during specialized programs like Energy Talent Company’s Talent Corp program.
It is clear what the benefit is for the apprentice, but not much is said about the benefits that a company can derive from choosing to hire apprentices, especially in the solar energy industry. Here are some reported benefits solar companies enjoy when they hire apprentices from Energy Talent Company.
- Save on recruitment costs
When solar companies hire apprentices from Energy Talent Company, they get these apprentices at no cost. We are more interested in developing the talents and having them contribute to hiring companies what they have studied and learned from our world-class training program. What this means is that solar companies can get easy access to well-trained apprentices for free, as opposed to getting interns or full-time staff that would have to be paid.
- Contribute to workforce growth and productivity
There seems to be a shortage of qualified and experienced talents available to handle projects and installations, especially in this part of the world where solar energy companies experience increased demand from customers who want to get electricity supply from other sources than the unreliable grid. What this means for solar companies is that they either get more hands-on board to handle the demand or lose some customers to their competitors.
Apprenticeships are helpful to solar companies looking to grow their teams. They can serve in support capacities while experienced professionals face more complicated matters at work. The apprentices can be made to understudy different members of the team to also grow and develop themselves. This leads to an engaged and more productive team.
- Easily create a pipeline of top talent
One of the challenges solar companies face when hiring talents to join their teams is being able to spot the right talent that can fit easily into their organization’s structure and culture. This is a challenge that is easily solved by hiring apprentices. Apprentices are willing to learn and demonstrate what they have learned from their training periods. It is usually relatively easy to spot great talent at this phase and establish a relationship with them so they can either be retained after their apprenticeship or hired at a later point in the future.
