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A new apprentice program is on the horizon for Iowa workers, but it’s not the type of apprenticeship that you might be thinking of. This apprenticeship is not for pipefitters or plumbers; it’s for information technology (IT) consultants; a revelation based on the demand for technology consultants right here in Iowa.

“New skill sets are being required at such a rapid rate of change that many people in the Iowa work force are falling behind in the technology skills that are needed today, or there is not enough of an available work force to meet the increased demand,” said Douglas Bryson, former program coordinator at Software Engineering Services (SES), the IT consulting company that is launching the apprentice program.

With headquarters in Bellevue, Neb., and a branch office in West Des Moines, SES is the first company in Iowa to offer this type of technology-based apprenticeship for IT professionals. Bryson hopes this success can be made a reality in Iowa, and has tailored the programs to suit the specific economic demands of employers within the state in anticipation of success.

“SES has created distinct apprenticeship occupations that will contribute to Iowa’s economy in the form of providing solutions to the current and anticipated workforce issues that we are seeing in our daily operations and those that were identified in the 2007 Governor’s Workforce Summit,” Bryson said.

The Dec. 18 summit represented an initial effort by Gov. Chet Culver to address Iowa’s challenge of recruiting and training enough workers to fill the thousands of skilled positions expected to be created in the state over the next several years, including IT positions. Since then, more than $3 million in Trade Adjustment Assistance from the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration has been allocated to Iowa Workforce Development to aid displaced workers with training, job search and relocation allowances, income support and other reemployment services.

Bryson began drafting and planning the apprentice program just a few months ago with the help of SES Director Bonnie Rosa-Mosena, and has already received federal certification from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship for eight technology consultant positions. Bryson and Rosa-Mosena have three more undisclosed positions that they are working on in anticipation of them becoming a reality next year. The three new positions, when and if they are approved, would be the first of their kind in the nation, Rosa-Mosena said.

As of right now, the approved eight positions will cover a wide array of technology jobs that are experiencing a shortage of workers. “All related positions are expected to increase in demand through at least 2016,” Bryson said. This gap between the increase in demand for IT talent and a shortage of qualified IT workers is what Bryson hopes to fill.

“Staffing companies around Iowa cite an immediate need to identify IT professionals in all eight occupations of SES’s apprenticeship program,” Bryson said. “And on any given day, there are more than 1,000 job openings in the state of Iowa in our proposed apprenticeship domains.”

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported to the Associated Press last week that one in 19 new jobs created between 2006 and 2016 will be professional IT positions. The bureau also estimated a 24-percent increase, or 845,000 more professional IT jobs, will be added during the 10-year period.

SES will be responsible for providing the structured educational component of the apprenticeship, and the employer will be responsible for the on-site training. This collaboration of techniques will allow for critical hands-on training in real work settings as well as theory-based instruction, Bryson said.

The educational element of the program will be tailored to match the learning strategies of nontraditional students. This could include employees who currently fill IT positions within their companies and are entering the program to receive advanced training, or military personnel who are learning IT skills that will allow them to transition back into the work arena successfully.

Furthermore, Bryson boasts strong relationships with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), the Iowa National Guard and Reserve, the Iowa Department of Education’s Montgomery G.I. Bill program, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship, positioning SES “to tap into a vast population of potential candidates,” Bryson said.

Bryson plans to use the expertise of area professionals as well as SES employees to instruct the apprentices. He is also working on developing an online course component so that apprentices with families or other conflicting arrangements can still fulfill the instruction requirements without having to attend night classes. Bryson would like to explore the possibility of utilizing classrooms at Des Moines Area Community College, Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids and other locations as extension sites.

Along with the required amount of classroom instruction, apprentices will also have to complete adequate hands-on training in the work place. The on-site training would be administered by an employee in the workplace who specializes in that designated IT area. The mentor would then be responsible for signing off on the apprentices’ progress throughout the program.

Bryson also hopes that SES can create partnerships with local businesses that are looking for IT employees, or want to further educate their current IT staff. Ideally, partnerships would be a dynamic relationship that would utilize the IT knowledge that the company already possesses, as well as provide professionals within the company the opportunity to act as instructors and receive monetary compensation for their work with the apprentice program.

Just recently, Goodwill Industries announced that it will pursue a partnership with SES. “They have signed on board our committee and have partnered with us to collaborate,” Bryson said. “We’re really excited.”

After being interviewed for this article, Douglas Bryson took a position with the Department of Homeland Security; Jeff Showers has taken over as the new program coordinator.