Metrics for Calculating ROI

Turnover Costs

The need for employers to retain their current employees has never been greater. Between 2012-2022, voluntary turnover in the U.S. workforce doubled. Because organizations often do not track their cost of turnover, they may be unaware of the substantial hidden costs.

Work Institute has found that losing an employee typically costs an organization an amount roughly equivalent to 33% of that worker’s base pay. For salary workers earning the U.S. yearly median income of $48,672, the projected cost is approximately $15,000 per employee departure.

Talent Pipeline of Skilled Workers

Finding qualified workers is one of the greatest challenges employers face. Building a reliable pipeline to talent helps future-proof your business, particularly for high-demand, hard-to-fill roles. Nearly 60% of employers using an apprenticeship program rank this benefit as more valuable than the productivity gain of the apprentice.

How Inclusive Apprenticeship Helps Build a Talent Pipeline

• People with disabilities, including veterans, are a largely untapped pool of talent. The majority of working-age people with disabilities are striving to work, but their participation in the labor force is less than half of the rate for people without disabilities. Employers who embrace disability hiring gain access to nearly 14 million “hidden workers�? in the U.S., further protecting themselves from talent shortages in the future.
• Many employers fear that disability accommodations are expensive, but 95% are either free or under $500 to implement. In fact, 56% cost absolutely nothing.
• Apprenticeship offers a proven way for organizations to quickly upskill engaged candidates with in-demand skills for hard-to-fill roles through experiential, on-the-job training.

Pandemic Recovery

The pandemic has brought many challenges to both employers and employees. Long COVID has affected millions of Americans, sometimes causing serious, long-term health issues that have forced people out of the workforce. Nearly 1 in 5 adults who have previously been infected with the coronavirus are still experiencing symptoms of Long COVID. Mental health challenges have also soared and are prompting higher attrition levels across all organizational levels. 68% of Millennials and 81% of Gen Zers have left roles for mental health reasons – and these groups will make up two thirds of the workforce by 2030.

How Inclusive Apprenticeship Helps Pandemic Recovery

• An inclusive apprenticeship program can attract new pools of underutilized talent and mitigate the significant worker shortages and retention challenges brought on by COVID-19. Many people with recently acquired disabilities and chronic conditions want to work but need an inclusive workforce culture to succeed in their roles.
• Pandemic challenges have been documented to have a disproportionate effect on racial and ethnic minorities, women, and other underrepresented groups. The same workplace factors that unlock inclusivity for people with disabilities also foster inclusion for other underrepresented groups.

Company Culture

Companies are most profitable and successful when their employees feel engaged and supported. Accenture found that companies that embrace best practices for employing and supporting persons with disabilities in their workforce regularly outperform their peers. These organizations experienced 28% higher revenue, 200% higher net income, and 30% higher profit margins.

How Inclusive Apprenticeship Boosts Innovation and Employee Engagement

• Job seekers prefer employers who are inclusive and 76% of employees and job seekers said a diverse workforce was important when evaluating companies and job offers.
• New employees from underrepresented groups will inherently bring new, fresh perspectives and ideas. Companies with above average diversity produced 19% more revenue from innovation than companies with below average diversity.
• Both apprentices and people with disabilities are less likely to be absent from work. The absence rate for all full-time wage and salary workers is 3.2%, which is equal to approximately $3600/year in lost wages.
  • One study showed that those who graduated apprenticeship programs are absent 95% less than compared to non-apprentices.
  • Several studies indicate that people with disabilities are absent far less than their counterparts who do not identify as having a disability.

Funding Opportunities

There are several tax incentives and grants you may qualify for as an employer or intermediary that can help offset the upfront costs in an apprenticeship program investment.

How Apprenticeship Tax Incentives Can Offset Program Costs

• National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) maintains a list of several states across the nation that offer a variety of tax incentives and grant funding for the employment of apprentices or the implementation of apprenticeship programs.
• The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) is designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the labor market and to match employers with the skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy. Employers can take advantage of WIOA funding to support a variety of apprenticeship expenses, including classroom training, on-the-job training, and supportive services.
• Tax incentives for hiring people with disabilities:
• The Employer Assistance and Resource Network (EARN) has a list of federal and state tax incentives for hiring people with disabilities, which your apprenticeship program may qualify for.
• This includes the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) which is a Federal tax credit of up to $9,600 per apprentice. It is available to employers hiring individuals from certain targeted groups who have consistently faced significant barriers to employment.

The Apprenticeship Inclusion Models (AIM) for Youth and Adults with Disabilities also developed a policy and practice brief, “Funding Inclusive Apprenticeships: Strategies for Braiding, Blending, and Aligning Resources,�? which contains specific examples of how inclusive apprenticeship programs are funded. More information is available at Apprenticeship.gov and the Federal Resources Playbook.