By Sven Böll
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.--The Obama administration and governors from
Michigan to South Carolina have a solution for some of the U.S.
manufacturing sector's woes: German-style apprenticeship
programs.
But their success is proving to be unusually one-sided, mostly
drawing firms based in Germany and other non-U.S. countries. In
South Carolina, "Apprenticeship 2000," a program combining
classroom work and on-the-job training, has drawn numerous German
companies but so far only two U.S. firms, Ameritech Die & Mold
Inc. and Timken Co.
In Michigan, where Republican Gov. Rick Snyder promised last
year to "Americanize" the German model in his state, almost
three-fourths of the participants are firms based overseas, mostly
in Germany.
Both the White House and governors are trying to fight a
so-called skills gap among U.S. workers that many businesses blame
for the slow labor-market recovery. Although plenty of Americans
are looking for work, employers often lament a lack of qualified
workers--particularly young people.
Germany, in contrast, has a long record of finding a stronger
fit between employees' skills and employers' demands. The success
is reflected in a youth unemployment below 8%, the lowest of any
advanced country and about half of the U.S. level. The
apprenticeship system is credited as a leading driver of what many
European economists call the German labor-market "miracle."
"Vocational training is a well-recognized career in Germany that
offers good income opportunities, whereas in the U.S. it is often
associated with people who did poor at high school," said Robert
Lerman, an American University economics professor who studies
apprenticeships.
Unlike in the U.S., where workers are largely hired and then
trained for a company's particular needs, German vocational
training normally takes three years and is supposed to give
apprentices a broader qualification beyond a single employer's
needs.
The students, paid by the companies, spend three to four days a
week doing on-the-job training within companies and the rest of the
time taking classes at public vocational schools. Curricula are
developed by employers' associations, trade unions and the federal
government. Costs vary but average roughly $20,000 a year,
typically for three years.
"The apprenticeship has been the best choice of my professional
life," said Amy Mitchum, a 37-year-old Tennessee resident who left
her job as a membership manager for a real-estate agency three
years ago to join an apprenticeship program run by Volkswagen AG.
The German car maker's Automation Mechatronics program gave her
what is viewed globally as the gold standard for apprenticeships: a
German vocational-training certificate.
She now earns $22 an hour, about 50% more than the median wage
in her state. In a few years, she'll likely move up to $30 an
hour--alongside benefits including health insurance, a bonus,
pension plan and good deals on cars. "I don't see any reason why I
might quit this," she said. Now her husband works for Volkswagen,
too.
Most U.S. workers avoid the same path for a number of reasons,
experts say. Parents and educators tend to generally encourage
young Americans to attend college. While businesses have an
incentive to hire qualified workers, many resist investing in
people who might leave. And the community colleges that are often
at the center of apprenticeship programs tend to focus on local
interests.
President Barack Obama, who has discussed the German model a
number of times, has taken some action. The administration wants to
double the number of apprentices within the next five years and
plans to launch a $100 million program to expand
apprenticeships.
Its success remains uncertain because of the U.S. educational
system's decentralized structure. While Germany has national
standards for vocational training, it's difficult for federal
officials and state governors to set standards for community
colleges.
"The power both of the federal and the state governments to push
the collaboration between business and colleges on a regional level
is limited," said Monika Aring, an adviser to companies who has
studied the issue for the International Labor Organization. Also,
U.S. companies "are not used to collaborating with each other."
Some corporate executives fear spending money on training could
be a bad investment. Christian Koestler, vice president of
operations at German manufacturer Stihl Inc. in Virginia Beach,
Va., recently presented his vocational-training program to about 20
companies to seek their cooperation.
His American counterparts often asked him, "What if I invest in
the people and then they leave?"
His reply: "It would be worse if you didn't invest and they
stayed their whole professional lives with you," Mr. Koestler said.
Only one company--based in Germany--joined the Stihl apprenticeship
program.
At first glance, the fear of misinvestment seems justified.
Studies show Americans between the ages of 16 and 25 change their
jobs almost eight times, three times as much as Germans in the same
age group. But the figures also could prove why the German model
works: If companies invest in their workforce, the workers are much
more loyal.
That's why Mike Gidley, executive vice president of Pontiac Coil
Inc., based near Detroit, thinks a German-style system benefits
everyone. "It gives both our apprentices and us a huge competitive
advantage," he said. Mr. Gidley is the new chairman of the steering
committee of MAT2, the vocational-training system introduced in
Michigan. Under the program, firms must invest about $20,000 per
person a year, but the apprentice must stay with the employer for
at least two more years after the training.
"We have been struggling so long to find the technicians we
need," Mr. Gidley said. "The program is exactly what we
needed."
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