A story in The New York Times recently proclaimed, “Want a White-Collar Career Without College Debt? Become an Apprentice.” The article featured a St. Louis student, Tyler Holdener, who bypassed studying computer science in college in favor of an apprenticeship with Centene thanks to a program run by LaunchCode, the nonprofit started by Square’s Jim McKelvey that offers free training in software development.
Thanks to Missourians like Holdener, the state ranks No. 2 nationwide for new and completed apprenticeships. Last November, Governor Mike Parson cited this stat during the Apprenticeship Missouri Summit, during which he signed an executive order to create a statewide office for apprenticeships and work-based learning.
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LaunchCode executive director Jeff Mazur is hopeful that the state’s focus on apprenticeship and work-based opportunities will “encourage employers to think differently about how they are hiring and what it means to be ready for work.” The nonprofit works closely with employers through its apprenticeship and job placement program. Apprentices are kept on the nonprofit’s payroll while employers try them out. “We use a model that takes some of the risk from those employers to hire people from unfamiliar channels,” says Mazur.
If the employer decides to keep the apprentice on after a couple of months, Mazur says, the employee is moved to the company’s payroll: “We know they don’t have any experience or a four-year degree, but they have passion to do this work, and they have the skills.” Eighty-four percent of the people placed in apprenticeships eventually become permanent in those roles, often doubling their pre-LaunchCode salaries.
Besides providing an accessible path to high-paying jobs, the nonprofit is helping fill a regional gap in tech talent. As Mazur explains, “There are hundreds of thousands of jobs in technology that employers simply can’t find enough skilled people to do.”
It’s a need that other organizations are also working to address. Last August, for example, the St. Louis Regional Business Council and St. Louis Civic Pride Foundation launched STL.works, an online resource to connect job-seekers with high-paying skilled careers in technology, health care, manufacturing, and the trades.
And in November, Ranken Technical College opened its Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center, which serves as a home for the college’s manufacturing programs and helps students get valuable first-hand experience they might not learn in a traditional setting.
“For every hour of theory taught in the classroom,” says Ranken CEO Stan Shoun, “Ranken students have at least three hours of hands-on learning experiences.”
The new center houses 14 microenterprises, reverse apprenticeships in which work is integrated into the curriculum so students are paid while earning college credit. The college is working closely with such companies as Emerson, Enterprise Holdings, and more, putting an emphasis hands-on learning, like STL.works and LaunchCode.
“It’s a positive step if we can get employers to focus on skills,” Mazur says, “rather than credentials.”
