Juliet Townes
Abstract
Organisations have identified artisans as a critical staffing concern. The artisan job family has been identified as a scarce and critical skill. Domestic economies and the effectiveness and success of several industries could be negatively affected if this artisanal crisis is not addressed. Despite this, there is limited research regarding the profiling and selection of apprentices.
The qualitative research reported in this paper aimed to explore three stakeholders’ perceptions and experiences of an apprenticeship selection process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with selected representatives from the employer, apprentice, and applicant stakeholder groupings to gauge their views on the selection process.
A sample of seven employer representatives, 12 apprentices and six applicants from two companies were individually interviewed to collect data. The narrative analysis findings revealed that the selection process was more manageable, professional, fair, and transparent than previous selection techniques.
The employer representatives also highlighted that the process had efficiently enabled them to screen for the unique skill set required of commencing apprentices. Despite the positive impact of the selection process experienced by all three stakeholder groups, some challenges were documented. The paper concludes with recommendations to address the research findings and managerial implications.