Editor’s Note

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Apprenticeships, once considered an “old-fashioned” training pathway limited to very specific trades, are gaining ground today as a highly effective and efficient route to a rewarding career. According to a recent American Staffing Association Workforce Monitor survey, 62% of those surveyed believe that apprenticeships and other on-the-job training programs make workers more employable than a college degree.

In June of last year, President Trump signed an executive order to double government funds for apprenticeship programs. It was followed this July with another executive order to establish apprenticeship programs with U.S. companies that will affect 3.8 million workers. This can be seen as a bipartisan move; the Obama administration set aside a record $175 million for the federal grant program for apprenticeships. Continued bipartisan support will be critical to the success of these efforts.

Check out Mark C. Perna's article Skilled Workers Aren’t Born, They’re Made, featured as the cover article, to understand how apprenticeships, the once-old-fashioned training pathway is fast becoming a route to the future.

Millennials (those born between 1981-1996) essentially think about jobs as opportunities to learn and grow. Their eagerness for development is possibly the greatest differentiator between them and other generations in the workplace.

Gallup found that 87 percent of millennials rate "professional or career growth and development opportunities" as important to them in a job — significantly more than the 69 percent of non-millennials who gave the same response.

Increasingly, organizations are leveraging learning management systems (LMSs) to help keep staffers of all generations involved, challenged, and current in their fields.

Tracy Volkmann in her article tells us how LMSs Keep Your Workforce Current, More Engaged.

Moving on there is Amit Gautam's L&D And The Role Of Leadership Development, where the author explains why you require inputs from leadership team to develop an effective learning strategy.

Also read, Dealing With Struggling Employees by Tim Eisenhauer and Coach More, Manage Less by Bill Eckstrom and Sarah Wirth, among other articles in this edition of Training and Development Excellence.

As always, enjoy reading and don’t forget to send us your feedback!