AS the world grapples with a growing skills gap, a centuries-old solution is gaining renewed attention. Apprenticeship, once the domain of medieval guilds, are being embraced by companies and countries as a vital tool for workforce development. From Germany’s dual education model to Jamaica’s struggles with skilled labour, this ancient approach is being reimagined for the modern economy.

Over the last three years, calls for more skilled labour have echoed across the island, with several business leaders in the private sector, including chairman of the Margaritaville Caribbean Group Ian Dear and deputy chairman of Chukka Caribbean John Byles, calling on the Government to consider implementing a programme to import skilled labour to meet the demand, specifically in the hospitality sector.

But the calls were met with immediate backlash from the public, who are sceptical about the reasons offered by business, despite a known labour shortage in Jamaica.

“This is not about replacing Jamaican labour. This is not about getting cheaper labour. This is about increasing the competency of the workforce and ensuring that companies, when they are allowed to bring in people, show a clear plan of how they will use them to also train our local labour to get up to the standard to replace them,” Seprod CEO Richard Pandohie disclosed in a previous interview with the
Jamaica Observer, aiming to shed light on the issue.

This approach is similar to the traditional roots of apprenticeships, which dates back to mediaeval Europe. During this time, craftsmen and artisans formed guilds to regulate their trades and train the next generation of skilled workers through a system of apprenticeship. Typically, young individuals in their early teens would be placed under the mentorship of a master craftsman to learn the intricacies of a specific trade. The foundation of apprenticeship models is built on the idea of using skilled workers to train others in the specific skill. However, according to Pandohie, if a country already lacks skilled workers, it would make economic and business sense to import the necessary skills to train others.

Countries like Germany and Switzerland have long championed apprenticeship systems, with the dual education model offering a blend of classroom instruction and hands-on training. The success of these models has prompted other nations, including the United States and the United Kingdom, to implement similar apprenticeship initiatives to cultivate a skilled workforce. Tech giants like IBM and Microsoft and the National Health Service have established apprenticeship schemes to nurture talent in emerging fields such as health care, cybersecurity, and cloud computing, demonstrating the adaptability of apprenticeships to modern industries.

However, apprenticeships in Jamaica are currently practised differently, with the HEART Trust/NSTA offering training as a secondary option, often seen as a fall-back if tertiary education aspirations are not met. But Kamesha Blake, executive director of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association, argues that this model needs revamping to mirror Germany’s and the UK’s approaches, where apprenticeships are viewed as a viable option for skills development by young people and as a crucial part of workforce development by employers.

“We would have been looking at the UK model, and we see that there is seamless integration at various levels, and they start from level one going up to level six, where it starts from the basic programme going up to a masters, where it is integrated even into their university system,” Blake told the Business Observer.

In Germany, the dual education system, or ‘duales Ausbildungs’ system, is often referred to in English as the ‘German vocational education and training system’. This system serves as a transition between school and the workplace, with most apprentices aged between 16 and 19, and can be integrated into a degree course. Blake is calling for Jamaica to adopt a similar model, making it a more attractive and natural progression within the education system rather than a standalone option, especially for areas requiring higher-level technical skills.

“Based on what is happening right now in the industry where we have a higher level of skills shortage, we think that this is a very adaptable model because it would help to pull in people that don’t have the skills, [and] you can be helping them by giving them a job while paying them and just tying them to your organisation,” she added.

Still, the adoption of the apprenticeship model seems to circulate around the same industries: tourism, hospitality, and manufacturing. But research conducted by Harvard Business School’s Managing the Future of Work project and Burning Glass Technologies and presented in the paper ‘Room to Grow: Identifying New Frontiers for Apprenticeships’ explores the scope of potential for apprenticeships in the economy, revealing great opportunities for expanding and boosting the model to new industries and occupations.

“HEART needs to help both employers and possible employees understand the model, but likewise, to make sure the programme itself is well-developed and well-marketed and ensure people understand the value of it,” she said. “HEART is now improving on that where the increasing awareness, the remodelling of the programme, and employers will see the benefit in the longer the economy overall.”