How Is Your Talent Pipeline?
We Help Close the Gap
Many employers have shared with us that they have trouble finding qualified individuals to fill their job openings. At IAA, we specialize in finding individuals who have the ability and desire to do a job, matching them with an environment where they can be successful, and preparing them through a Registered Apprenticeship program to become proficient in that occupation. Here are two healthcare examples:
Fletcher Allen Health Care (now University of Vermont Medical Center) in Burlington, Vermont, could not find an adequate number of medical transcriptionists and therefore was forced to outsource this function to workers in another country. The turnaround time was slow and editing costs were high due to language barriers. Aware of the successful program that IAA created for IDX Systems Corporation, management asked IAA to duplicate the program for them. Subsequently, programs were developed for phlebotomy, data abstraction, practice support specialists, medical coding, licensed nurse assistants and surgical technologists.
When Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health (D-H), a large, rural academic medical center, was preparing for ICD-10, management found that they would need at least 12 additional medical coders. In an area where there were no experienced coders and one opening could take up to two years to fill, they knew they needed to consider a creative solution. That solution was a Registered Apprenticeship program, where IAA educated and prepared 13 individuals with no medical background, but who had the ability and desire, to become certified medical coders. The program was so successful that D-H asked IAA to develop additional programs for medical assistants, pharmacy technicians and patient access staff.
As you review our Media page, you'll find that we've developed programs for numerous occupations in the areas of healthcare, information technology, advanced manufacturing and business services. The basic model that we use of reverse engineering the job to create a rigorous curriculum attached to a Registered Apprenticeship program can work for many occupations.
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If you have a workforce need, a Registered Apprenticeship may be ideal. If you would like to learn more about apprenticeships, click on the button below.
Secrets to Success
Teach and Model What is Important
Before teaching in a program, our instructors know the job from the perspective of the employer-partner's environment, so they are not teaching in a vacuum. They are also keenly aware of the importance of professionalism and model that in the classroom. They don't simply teach students how to treat each other; they demonstrate it. They are also mentors to new instructors and to instructors provided by the employer, so there is a consistent role modeling of appropriate workplace behavior.
Highlight Awareness of Self and Others
During the education phase of the apprenticeship, instructors incorporate concepts of awareness of self and awareness of others throughout the day. This may be incorporated by formalized cultural competence training or by introducing a hands-on or group activity that asks what students feel would be important while working together on the activity.
Teach and Measure Technical Competencies
Each Registered Apprenticeship program involves a set of technical competencies, or work skills, that will lead to technical proficiency in the occupation. These competencies are based on what is typically expected and are customized to the work skills that the apprentice will need to know for the sponsoring employer.
Model and Measure Behavioral Competencies
In addition to technical competencies, apprentices are measured on a set of behavioral competencies that involve the soft skills that any employee needs to be successful. Examples are: adheres to employer dress code, knows when to ask for help, arrives on time and ready to work and remains engaged in his/her work throughout the day.
Ensure a Good Fit
A significant part of the selection process involves assessing each applicant's interest and abilities to ensure that the job they've applied for is a good fit for them and that they can be successful in their academics and in their apprenticeship.