Dive Brief:
- The skills gap is forcing competing Nevada businesses to start working together to form apprenticeship programs, according to the Las Vegas Journal-Review.
- Suzi LeVine, the former U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, says that American companies need to seriously consider a "Swiss-style" approach. She and her husband, Eric, travel around the country promoting this initiative. Eric LeVine told the Review-Journal that if a company launches a training program without the support of others firms, competitors will just take the newly trained talent. It makes more sense to work together, he said.
- Nevada offers more than 80 apprenticeship programs, but they are in need of serious updating, and could be expanded to cover fields such as information technology and healthcare, the Review-Journal reports.
Dive Insight:
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has touted job creation, with a focus on apprenticeships aimed at improving the talent pool. Trump recently said he believes that Switzerland's apprenticeship model is feasible for the U.S.
It appears that in states like Nevada, those efforts are already underway. According to a SHRM study released earlier this year, apprenticeships provide a solid return on investment — both in blue-collar and white-collar industries.
In a highly competitive region like Las Vegas, companies are apparently mindful of the fact that they must adapt to a changing labor market, and teaming up with other companies seems to make good business sense.
