Top 5 Ways Companies can make Apprenticeship Work

Over nearly seven years, CyberUp’s team has talked with hundreds of companies that hire cybersecurity talent. From companies who are thinking outside the box on talent acquisition to those who are set in their ways, we have heard it all. These conversations and our work on apprenticeships have earned us a reputation as “thought leaders” in non-traditional hiring, which we believe is the solution to “closing the skills gap” in cybersecurity. So how can a company embrace non-traditional hiring? Here are our Top 5 recommendations on how to successfully implement a hiring strategy that will set your organization apart from others in the industry. Spoiler alert: these may require a change in mindset and/or company culture!

Define what entry-level is for your organization – We have all seen the entry-level role that requires five years of experience, a doctorate degree, a CISSP, an O+ blood type, and a top-secret squirrel security clearance all to make $20 an hour. If the hiring manager was truly honest with themselves, none of that is necessary and they would be happy to have someone motivated with a willingness to learn fill the role. However, that doesn’t usually sit well with the recruiters and talent teams. Our suggestion is to do an assessment of each role and create a matrix that includes realistic years of experience, degrees (required or preferred), and certifications (required or preferred). Defining expectations will result in better job descriptions and a larger talent pool. more applicants. If you haven’t already taken a fresh look at your candidate requirements, we promise you will be pleasantly surprised with the high caliber of talent that was being overlooked. This will also open the door to new hiring paths, like CyberUp’s LevelUp Apprenticeship Program.
Build out career paths for your team – One of the biggest objections we have heard over the years to hiring entry-level employees is, “when we hire entry-level, they don’t stay with us long.” Companies feel like they invest a ton of time, money, and resources into green talent and are rewarded with them leaving for more money in less than two years. Of course, this is bound to happen given the dearth of talent across the country but in our experience, people are not simply leaving for more money. We are seeing people leaving a company to pursue a new or different role. There are so many different pathways and options in the cybersecurity sector. Most people coming in aren’t fully sure of where they want to land but, given some time, they will decide and pursue a path. With a little bit of intentionality, you can build out a career path model to provide options for your hires to choose from. We recognize that all companies aren’t created equal and not everyone has all the options but highlighting what paths you have will help with retention, more accurate job descriptions, and overall recruitment. If people know where they can go and they enjoy where they are working, they will remain with that employer.
Gain buy-in from your talent team – Teamwork makes the dream work, right? If you have tried to hire anyone for any role over the past two years you know how difficult it can be. It’s crazy competitive out there for smart, bright people and your first line of defense is your talent acquisition team. We are sure you work with them but by applying recommendations 1 and 2, you will paint a clearer picture and expectation for them. We encourage companies to think outside the box from their traditional college recruiting experience, likely their most common way to recruit entry-level talent. By expanding recruiting efforts to include other options like apprenticeships, you will have access to more, diverse candidates throughout a full calendar year, not just aligned with college semesters. The most successful teams assign a dedicated person or staff to work alongside their talent team to ensure the plan is successfully executed and their needs are met. If that’s not an option, work to create a strong relationship with your talent team and get buy-in. We hear they like to be taken out to lunch!
Train your people to support new hires – Let’s be honest, with the number of roles open across the country, most people are doing more than one job. The statistics for burnout in cybersecurity are real and the idea of hiring someone green sounds like a lot of work to a manager. Find ways to support your team or create an environment that promotes supporting new folks in the organization. An onboarding plan that includes layers of support from across the team helps the new employee feel welcome while also integrating them relatively quickly. Keep in mind, your team likely has a variety of personalities and some people might need additional coaching before they’re confident in their mentoring abilities. Providing this professional development opportunity plus incentives to reward staff for their efforts again positively impacts retention. And, working with an apprenticeship intermediary, like CyberUp, that provides support for new hires and their managers is a great way to set yourself up for success.
Stop requiring degrees – We are a long way away from completely eliminating the requirement for a degree for a job. That doesn’t mean that every role within in an organization needs one to get a foot in the door. The days of insanely competitive hiring are upon us with things like gig jobs, remote work, and people wanting more control and flexibility in their careers. Embracing non-traditional candidates from places you don’t always look, like boot camps, community colleges, and apprenticeships, will introduce you to curious and motivated people with in-demand skills. When you give a person an opportunity that other companies wouldn’t, they will work harder and be more loyal. In fact, 95% of our apprentices stay with their organizations. Once someone has proven their abilities, you can reward them with continuing education through an employer-paid program. This again will increase retention while reducing turnover and recruiting costs.
All of these concepts are interconnected and that is intentional. By looking at your job role requirements, communicating that to your talent team, and supporting your managers and the newfound talent, most companies will see a return on their investment pretty quickly. We have worked with employers that have taken this approach and they are thriving. We recognize that this takes time and effort. While implementing, this will be an extra lift in addition to the day-to-day functions of your security team, BUT we promise this approach works and the juice will be worth the squeeze.

If you are interested in having a deeper conversation about the topic please reach out to our incredible team of apprenticeship experts. We have helped companies big and small diversify their talent pipeline.