What does it take to find and attract the next generation of talent? In a world where talent is distributed equally across the board but opportunities aren’t, Aon is working hard to bring the greatest talent into the company (and the broader workforce) with their award-winning apprenticeship program. In this episode of “On Aon,” host Alexandra Lewis, Chief Marketing Officer, Reinsurance, welcomes Marc Armstrong, Managing Principal and Dawn Spreeman-Heine, Managing Director of Commercial Risk for a conversation about the ways that corporate apprenticeships can expand access to incredible talent and create family-sustaining careers that strengthen our communities. They cover ways to build a resilient workforce and the power of apprentices in boosting diversity and attracting and retaining quality talent.
What does it take to find and attract the next generation of talent? In a world where talent is distributed equally across the board but opportunities aren’t, Aon is working hard to bring the greatest talent into the company (and the broader workforce) with their award-winning apprenticeship program. In this episode of “On Aon,” host Alexandra Lewis, Chief Marketing Officer, Reinsurance, welcomes Marc Armstrong, Managing Principal and Dawn Spreeman-Heine, Managing Director of Commercial Risk for a conversation about the ways that corporate apprenticeships can expand access to incredible talent and create family-sustaining careers that strengthen our communities. They cover ways to build a resilient workforce and the power of apprentices in boosting diversity and attracting and retaining quality talent.
Additional Resources:
More information: for potential Aon apprentices and employers interested in launching an apprenticeship program.
In 2021, Aon launched programs in Houston, New York, Northern California, Minnesota, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Aon was recently named to Fortune’s Change the World List for its apprenticeship program, and won a 2021 TARGETjobs National Graduate Recruitment Award for a similar program in the UK.
Tweetables:
“We know that when we have a more diverse group of colleagues sitting around the table working on client problems, we come up with better solutions.” — Marc Armstrong
“The return on this investment has proven to be well worth it.” — Dawn Spreeman-Heine
“This program is a game changer for our apprentices.” — Marc Armstrong
“Talent is equally distributed throughout the population but opportunities are not.” — Marc Armstrong
“I’m full of optimism and hope, and I’m going to attribute much of that to this program.” — Dawn Spreeman-Heine
Voiceover:
Welcome to On Aon, a podcast featuring conversations between colleagues on... well, Aon. This week we hear from Marc Armstrong and Dawn Spreeman-Heine about how corporate apprenticeships can expand access to incredible talent and create family sustaining careers that strengthen our communities. And now this week's host, Alex Lewis.
Alex Lewis:
Welcome to the On Aon podcast. And today, we're exploring how to build a resilient workforce and particularly the power of apprentices when it comes to building diversity, attracting talent and retaining talents as well.
Alex Lewis:
Now, I'm Alex Lewis and I've been at Aon for some 16 years. So I know this is a great place to work and that the industry is equally as fascinating. But how do we attract the next generation? I'm excited to be here today with Dawn Spreeman-Heine and Marc Armstrong to just reveal how we are expanding our talents. Dawn, Marc, welcome.
Dawn Spreeman-Heine:
Thanks Alex. I'm so glad to be here today.
Marc Armstrong:
Thanks for having us as Alex. Great to be on the Aon podcast series.
Alex Lewis:
Fantastic. So to kick us off today, I wonder if you could tell us a little bit more about what makes these apprenticeships so important. Marc, perhaps you could start for us please.
Marc Armstrong:
Yeah. Thank you. So I think what's most compelling about apprenticeships, we talk to clients all the time about what the key issues they're facing, what the key risks they're facing, how they think about the future of their business. And whether we talk to them informally or formally through the global risk survey and other avenues that we have.
Marc Armstrong:
There are two key themes that come across wherever you are in the world and whatever your business is. And senior leaders are concerned about their ability to continue to innovate, to meet customer needs number one. And number two, how do we continue to attract and retain top talent in a world that is increasingly difficult to do that?
Marc Armstrong:
The wonderful thing about apprenticeships is it checks both of those boxes. So as we think about our own organization, as you know, we're in the problem solving business. So whether it's around risk or human capital or wealth, we're helping clients make better decisions about those things.
Marc Armstrong:
And we're helping them think about how they can build their business. And the way that apprenticeship does that from a problem solving standpoint is we know that when we have a more diverse group of colleagues sitting around the table working on client problems, we come up with better solutions.
Marc Armstrong:
The other thing that everyone is facing not just Aon, but all businesses is, how do we think in the new world, how are we going to attract the top talent to make our business successful? So here in the U.S. where only a third of Americans have a four-year degree, but yet still many corporations require that as a prerequisite to entry into their business. Can we take a step back and say, "Is it that really necessary?"
Marc Armstrong:
And we've done that at Aon. We've taken a step back and say, "How many of these entry level jobs truly require a four year college journey?" And so terrific that we've launched this program first in Chicago, I watched it from afar for a while with some interest. And what I saw was that we were getting a lot of people into the organization that wouldn't have the opportunity to previously.
Marc Armstrong:
And even as I began to interact with some of those apprentices informally, I was just incredibly impressed by how it was helping us drive better outcomes on behalf of our clients. So fundamentally, I see this as a competitive advantage for Aon as we think about how we want to become a better organization on behalf of our clients.
Dawn Spreeman-Heine:
Yeah. So I've been very excited too, watching this program over the last few years and couldn't have been more thrilled when I learned last year that we were going to be expanding to six additional cities in the U.S. I was really literally waiting for the day. So very exciting.
Dawn Spreeman-Heine:
And the fact that Aon Chicago, along with Accenture and Zurich had four solid years under their belt with experience, pride and trues [inaudible 00:04:26] three of them built the apprenticeship network in Chicago to over now a thousand graduated apprentices.
Dawn Spreeman-Heine:
Made it much more exciting, even still that we have something here that we can plug and play in Houston and other cities that I've mentioned. We're expanding now to Houston, Philadelphia, D.C., New York, New Jersey, Minneapolis and San Francisco, I believe. So we're all very excited about that.
Dawn Spreeman-Heine:
This program for Aon really does provide colleagues with an opportunity to enter a professional career with us without that traditional four-year degree that Marc mentioned. And the program is two years long and it is combined on-the-job learning along with their educational degree program, a two-year associate degree program. All while receiving mentorship and a number of other services and support from the networks that we're building.
Dawn Spreeman-Heine:
So it's been really exciting, especially happy to hear Aon made the investment of $30 million to expand this program to these cities. So that's how we're able to do that. And the return on investment has proven to be well worth it, which is definitely something that we have to share with other cities who are interested in joining this network.
Alex Lewis:
It sounds incredibly exciting, brilliant that we're bringing a whole host of new opportunities out there. If we have any eager potential apprentices listening in at the moment, what can they expect? What does the structure of the program look like?
Dawn Spreeman-Heine:
Well, for the Aon program it does differ slightly from city to city, but the core tenants are the same. And the core structure is consistent. So apprentices will expect to spend 40 hours a week working for Aon. They will be 28 hours typically of on-the-job learning with our colleagues at Aon and take a full course load at a local community college that we've prearranged.
Dawn Spreeman-Heine:
And the community colleges have helped us build the curriculum specific to what we need for our job roles, which is really helpful. We will pay for their full-time salary, a decent living wage. We will pay for their tuition, books, all of their fees and we provide full benefits. Health insurance and benefits to the apprentice colleagues that join us.
Dawn Spreeman-Heine:
After two years, they graduate from the program complete with a graduation ceremony, an associate degree, a department of labor certification that they can take with them anywhere. And a full-time permanent position, comparable to those that are available to our graduates from four-year college degrees.
Alex Lewis:
Marc anything further to add?
Marc Armstrong:
Yeah, I think it's a game changer for the apprentices and the best way I can describe it to you. So in the Philadelphia region, we've partnered with Community College of Philadelphia and Montgomery County Community College to make sure their students are aware of this program, how we're expanding it and what it looks like.
Marc Armstrong:
In fact, later today, I'm on a call with Montgomery County Community College to celebrate the launch and the partnership that we have with them. We're actually going to have one of our own new apprentices on that call to talk about what it means to them and why they think it's such an important program and why they're excited about the journey.
Marc Armstrong:
I think the important thing for folks to understand as they talk to other employers about the potential to join our apprenticeship network around the region and around the world is we're making it as easy as possible for them by creating this ecosystem.
Marc Armstrong:
So one of the things that we're doing that I think is really impactful is partnering not only with community colleges, so that we have that pipeline of talent, but also with third parties, workforce development companies and not for profits who are going to help our apprentices develop the soft business skills they need to be success successful.
Marc Armstrong:
And not only the apprentices, but the apprentice managers. What skills do they need to make sure we can help our new colleagues have an impact on our business going forward? And I think that's a really important differentiator is how we think about this.
Marc Armstrong:
And I like to tell employers, "You don't have to do exactly what Aon's doing, but you're going to see immediate benefit to your business, to your talent strategy. And how you think about reducing that skills gap in your organization." And then the final thing I'll say that is really magic if you will, is the ability of the apprentices to network with one another in other businesses, in other industries.
Marc Armstrong:
We're creating a framework for them to get together, albeit right now virtually, but at some point in the not too distant future, hopefully in person. Where they can begin to create those critical networks that you need to be successful in life and business.
Marc Armstrong:
So it's giving them a proper perspective around work-life balance and how to help themselves and help their careers by making those critical connections in other businesses and other industries. It's really very interesting to say.
Alex Lewis:
So we've heard about the abundance of opportunities for the apprentices, but what about from the employer's perspective? So Marc, you mentioned about trying to bridge that talent gap, but what are the other outcomes on a day-to-day basis? What are the other benefits for employers who take part in this scheme?
Marc Armstrong:
So we've been through a lot globally over the last 24 months. And I think all organizations are taking a step back and thinking about not only how can they fulfill their business strategies and their objectives for their key stakeholders, but how can we have a social impact while we're doing that?
Marc Armstrong:
And I think as I talk to employers, they all see the immediate benefit. Not just to their business, but to their local community in giving people an opportunity that they wouldn't have previously.
Marc Armstrong:
We like to say that talent is equally distributed throughout the population, but opportunities are not. And what apprenticeship does for the employer and for the community, as we talk to employers about this.
Marc Armstrong:
Everybody comes to this from a different place, but everybody says, "I love this. This is a great idea. How do I participate?" Aon was just named to the Fortune's Change the World list. Which is again, a terrific acknowledgement of some of the things that we're doing to engender that positive social impact.
Marc Armstrong:
It creates an avenue for our fellow citizens to move forward and get an opportunity that they wouldn't have normally. Because they just don't have the opportunity to take a four-year college journey.
Alex Lewis:
And Dawn how about you? What are some of those benefits for employers that you've seen in action?
Dawn Spreeman-Heine:
Well, to add on to the talent strategy, certainly very well described by Marc and in much depth it's really true from city to city what we're seeing as far as the benefits for employers. I'll just add on too by sharing the apprentice cohorts add a lot of diversity to an organization and can do so relatively quickly.
Dawn Spreeman-Heine:
For example in Houston, we hired 10 apprentices, our cohort of 10. And our Houston core offices of 200 colleagues and 90% to a 100% percent of our cohort would identify as diverse colleagues. So we've automatically just in one class, boosted our diversity percentage by 5%.
Dawn Spreeman-Heine:
It's not all about the numbers, but the culture and the quality, the quality of these individuals and the culture and all the rich life experiences they bring have really invigorated everyone here.
Dawn Spreeman-Heine:
So that is a big benefit, I think to employers is to go into the next years to come with a new invigorated talent pipeline. That's equitable for everyone. I think that's a huge benefit for employers.
Alex Lewis:
Brilliant. And it looks like this is really paying off and very excited to avail that Aon has just one in the UK the 2021 National Recruitment Award for its program. It's fantastic to have that recognition. So just to wrap up, a final question for each of you. And Dawn, I'll start with you. How has the apprentice program really impacted you?
Dawn Spreeman-Heine:
How the apprentice program has impacted me? It's had a huge impact on me and I'll say personally, I reconnected with my city here in Houston over the events of the last year and a half.
Dawn Spreeman-Heine:
And really saw so much of a need for expanding diversity and equality, providing equity across our community here. And it's really opened my eyes to what's possible in our communities and for our communities and even across the U.S. and the world.
Dawn Spreeman-Heine:
When opportunities are more widely available to everyone. I'm filled with optimism and hope and every day is a new and exciting adventure for me. And I'm going to attribute much of that to this program.
Alex Lewis:
Marc, how about you?
Marc Armstrong:
Yeah. I echo what Dawn just said. It's terrific to bring a program like this to your hometown. I'm a Philadelphian and to bring it into my hometown has been particularly gratifying. And I would say that's around two main areas. Number one, as I suggested before these apprentices and we welcomed our first cohort into Philadelphia at the end of August.
Marc Armstrong:
I'm blown away by their life stories, by what do they bring to the table for Aon, their resilience, their ability to think critically. I'm very excited about the future for these individuals and fully expect to see as we're beginning to see in Chicago as they make their way through the organization into more areas of more responsibility.
Marc Armstrong:
So that's just terrific. And the second thing that I kind of knew innately, but is really terrific to see in action is all of my fellow colleagues who have been very happy and willing to jump into the fray along with me to say, "How can we be helpful here?"
Marc Armstrong:
Not only in just talking to employers about joining our network, but how can we help mentor and train these apprentices so that they'll be successful? So that they'll see what a great industry we're in. And that's been particularly gratifying because as I say all the time, I've got more people willing to train and mentor than I have apprentices.
Marc Armstrong:
Which is a terrific problem to have and we'll fix that problem. But it is great to work in an organization where your peers and your colleagues are just delighted to help make this program a success.
Alex Lewis:
Well, I'm feeling utterly inspired by both of you and feel incredibly proud to work at Aon, who is really making an impact in terms of the driving diversity and also bringing new opportunities across the U.S. and also in other parts of the world too. Thank you so much for your time today.
Voiceover:
This has been a conversation on Aon and our U.S. apprenticeship program. Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this week's episode tune in, in two weeks for a discussion of Aon's M&A C-Suite insights. To learn more about Aon, it's colleagues, solutions and news, check out our show notes and visit our website at aon.com.