OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — For the first time in his 34 years as the Full Employment Council (FEC), president and CEO Clyde McQueen says people looking for jobs are being much more deliberate.
“The automatic assumption is they [people looking for jobs] will flock when those jobs become available, or the applicant pool will become much more immense and much more intensified,” McQueen said. “However we are at this point where people are taking a look at, ‘When I do apply for this job, is it my intent to have a career with this employer?’ And the career with this employer includes the fringe benefits that are available, what is the career pathway that enables a person to grow both job function and wage levels.”
To help both employers and job seekers meet these new post-pandemic benchmarks, the FEC is helping employers launch “registered apprenticeships.”
The employment agency based in Kansas City, Missouri, received a grant from the Missouri Office of Workforce Development as part of the state’s new “Missouri Apprentice Ready” program.
A registered apprenticeship is recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor. McQueen was on a phone call with U.S. Secretary of Labor Martin J. Walsh this week about expanding apprenticeships nationwide.
The paid apprenticeships work in two ways: First, they give employees a chance to learn a new skill through classroom and on-the-job training while earning a paycheck. Second, they allow employers to develop employees specifically for jobs within their company.
Employers interested in working with FEC to develop an apprenticeship program, should call the employer hotline at 816-691-2281.
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