In Honor of International Day of the Girl, let’s Offer more Apprenticeships to Young Women! 

Did you know that many top-level female executives began their career as an apprentice? In many countries, apprenticeships and vocational training are attached to a negative social stigma where parents and society view this path as a second-best choice to a traditional, academic path. Yet as the US Secretary of Labor, Thomas Perez, eloquently expressed, “Apprenticeship is the other college, except without the debt.”

Particularly for women, apprenticeships are a little-known path to career success. Girls may not consider apprenticeships as a practical option because these are often considered as an avenue for men to enter manual labor. However, the reality is that a variety of sectors offer apprenticeships, and many of these industries provide specialized training and look specifically for women to enter their workforce. Two of our female GAN Ambassadors began their careers as apprentices, and the experience was invaluable in setting them up for their future.

Take Ursula Renold, for example. At just 16, she was fed up with school. Becoming an apprentice during those difficult late teenage years allowed her to work with a team of adults and to learn from them about soft skills, such as how to be productive contributor to the workplace. It was through this experience that she found her passion. She went on to study history, economics and sociology and achieved a PhD at the University of Bern. Today, she is the Head of the Research Division for Education Systems at the KOF Swiss Economic Institute. In reflecting back on her time as an apprentice, Ursula writes, “My apprenticeship provided me with one of the most important experiences for my future career. I realized that I can do almost everything as long as I follow my passion, being curious and mindful.”

Dagmar Muhle began her career supporting the front office at Hilton Barcelona. Little did she know at the time that she would continue to climb the ladder within Hilton and that her apprenticeship position would be the stepping stone to a bright and active career. After managing a number of large Hilton hotels, today she is the Area General Manager for Hilton Worldwide with responsibility for three hotels throughout Western Germany. She says, “With the right support, the ‘on the job’ learning approach can be the perfect platform and for me it gave me a great grounding which made all of my achievements possible.”

Today, over 621 million youth are not engaged in employment, education or training. Apprenticeships may be just what they are looking for to gain the training and experience necessary for an active and successful career! Hosting our next Board Meeting at the US Capitol on 6 October, was an opportune time for the GAN to show stakeholders that the concept of “apprenticeships” is extending to several growing sectors including healthcare, IT, hospitality, finance, and more. Aside from widening its industry base however, the new movement on apprenticeship is also about extending opportunities to a variety of vulnerable groups, including young women and girls. 

Originally published by GAN4Youth on LinkedIn.