Accenture is a 60,000-employee organization in the US alone, and the company has embraced the important value of identifying and bringing to life opportunities for historically untapped pools of talent. Professional apprenticeships are a key component of Accenture’s work to create a more inclusive digital economy.

Accenture launched its North America Apprenticeship Program in 2016, providing 12-month earn-and-learn opportunities to apprentices. The goal is to provide offers for full-time career opportunities at the conclusion of the program. To date, more than 1,200 apprentices have participated, with 575 entering the program in 2021 alone.

Accenture has made apprenticeships a critical component of its overall talent strategy. In fact, Accenture has committed to 20% of its entry level hiring this year to be apprentices and approximately 45 percent of entry-level roles do not require four-year degrees, consistent with their skills-based hiring approach. An overwhelming majority of apprentices who have gone through Accenture’s program have continued with the company.

The program is designed to attract individuals who do not have a bachelor’s degree; Accenture works with community colleges, non-profit skilling organizations, and bootcamps to reach this population. Approximately 80 percent of apprentices do not have a bachelor’s degree when they join, 60 percent are ethnically diverse and nearly half are women.

Accenture’s apprenticeship program focuses on in-demand roles, setting apprentices up for success through training and job experience including in cyber, digital, data analytics and cloud migration. Accenture is also intentional about staffing apprentices on client-facing projects, to build experience in client relationship, project management, and customer service.

Robust support apprentices receive includes structured learning, professional skills development, on-the-job training, coaching, ongoing feedback and performance evaluations.

Accenture, dedicated to sharing best practices and bringing together a vast ecosystem of partners that support professional apprenticeships, has created a national playbook to help other companies join the movement for professional apprenticeship programs. Today, Apprentice networks are in Chicago, Greater Washington, DC, Houston, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Northern California, and Philadelphia.