#workforce development

Here's the truth: employers don't just want degrees anymore; they want people with practical skills. That's where vocational training changes the game. It's not just about passing exams. It's about learning the aptitude you can take straight into a workplace.

Why Vocational Education Matters The importance of vocational education comes down to one thing: it gets you ready for real life. You don't just sit in a classroom listening to theory. You work on projects, use industry tools, and solve problems the way you'll have to on the job. We see this every day at Aptech. Students who start unsure of themselves finish their course knowing they can confidently walk into an interview and demonstrate their capabilities. That kind of confidence is priceless.

Vocational or Professional Training vs Just Theory Look, there's nothing wrong with traditional education. But vocational or professional training is faster, sharper, and more focused. It's designed to teach you the exact skills that companies are currently hiring for, whether that's coding, designing, animating, or managing projects. And employers notice the difference. When they hire someone who's efficiently trained, they don't have to spend months teaching them the basics. That professional starts contributing on day 1.

Building a Skilled Workforce Every company needs a skilled workforce to stay ahead. That's why vocational programs are so important; they keep talent ready for the newest tech, the newest trends, and the newest challenges. At Aptech, we constantly update our courses so our students are always learning what the industry actually uses, not what it used five years ago.

The Real Value of Vocational Training The value of vocational training isn't just about landing a job. It's about setting yourself up for growth. You learn how to work in teams, solve problems, and adapt when things change, helping you excel at your role. Many of our students go on to lead projects, start businesses, or even switch careers later in life without starting over.

Why Employers Love Vocational Professionals Companies actively look for specifically skilled professionals because they get things done. They're practical, they know their tools, and they bring results. Skills make careers. That's why vocational training matters so much right now. At Aptech and our training brands, we don't just teach, we prepare you to be the kind of professional employers are excited to hire.

The last couple of years brought a massive overhaul in the ways businesses function as well as the way they approach workforce management. Empathy, collaboration, and agility became the buzzwords and the organizations that couldn’t board this ship of change saw massive attritions or worse- a premature closure. Talent management has now become a topmost priority for organizations the world over. From real-world to virtual to hybrid models now, organizations are undergoing rapid change, and organizations need to introspect quickly on the effectiveness of their talent management systems. Many organizations have successfully adapted to the emerging trends in this sphere and resultantly are doing much better than their respective industry standards. While the needs of each sector is dynamic and there’s no one solution to all problems, here are the most commonly followed talent management trends that have emerged as a silver bullet to many.

Dynamic HCM This has been one of the core focus areas for Hexaware and is something that we actively track to analyze and resolve employee concerns. Human Capital Management tools have existed for quite some time but it’s in the last few years that the majority of organizations have started utilizing them to their true potential. These tools are not just a database of employees but their pulse! A successful HCM tool can play a vital role in nurturing and even retaining talent. These tools are now being made to understand the voice of employees and are engaging them more effectively leading to enhanced employee interactions and high satisfaction levels. Dynamic HCM tools have become an increasingly popular method to improve talent experience and a proactive approach in this aspect will take you miles.

Upgradation of L&D Modules It’s about time organizations evolve from the monthly seminars and training sessions in the name of learning and development. These sessions add absolutely no value and do more harm than good. The recent pandemic was one of the glaring examples of the failure of many L&D systems. It was the first time a large number of our talent pool experienced remote work and many organizations quite visibly suffered because of a lack of training on this front. This ended up wasting some crucial business hours in many cases.

The organizations that successfully surfed the wave of change were the ones that were well trained and prepared in advance. Robust and interactive sessions with real-world applications are the way to go and Hexaware’s Maverick programme does exactly this by empowering the employees and fostering their growth. It is designed to keep the young talent on top of the game from day one. The training programmes provided through Hexavarsity run throughout the year and are not a one-time event. These sessions boost employee confidence and add value to their work. Similarly, even for the more seasoned employees, we have programmes that aim to widen their spectrum and give them deeper insight into critical business functions and their global applications. This plays a pivotal role in shaping them into future business leaders.

Empathetic Approach Businesses that have championed empathy in their approach have historically been more successful than the ones that were numbers-focused. This is primarily because employees value an organization and show more loyalty if it has ears for them. Affable top management and a crystal clear communication channel are the need of the hour. At Hexaware, employee welfare activities have been an integral part of our functioning for decades. It’s absolutely essential that employees are in the best state of mind and are bereft of any distress. Our initiatives like Amelio Assist Programme where we provide nanny care and home learning for employees with children between 6 months to 6 years is one such endeavour. In addition to this, our Pay it forward initiative, mental and physical well-being sessions and flexible working hours have done wonders in employee satisfaction growth leading to effective talent management.

Diversifying Talent Pool Conscious hiring decisions that revolve around bringing demographic and cultural variety to your talent pool are on the rise. A diverse talent pool brings a wider perspective to business along with fresh ideas that foster growth. The evolving global business landscape has made it pertinent to have a diverse talent pool that understands and connects to different contexts. This makes every employee feel valued and helps immensely in talent retention and management

Remote Management and Collaborations Remote work has become an integral part of our workspace. This implies a change in not just work locations but also in management style. Managers need to be more collaborative and inclusive in their approach to their teams. Organizations world over are investing heavily in infusing empathy and enhancing collaborative culture in their leadership teams. These attributes are playing a critical role in employee engagement and many business leaders are now warming up to this reality.

Minneapolis Summer Youth Program, 1979

Managing a recycling center, gardening work, and news reporting and editing were just a few of the assignments provided to Minneapolis students enrolled in the youth employment program in 1979. The program provided training and jobs to low-income students ages 14 to 21 during the summer months, teaching them valuable skills which would help them get employed and succeed in their careers after high school. Majority of job placements were with government and non-profit agencies and in 1976, students were paid about $2.30 per hour, or about $10.50 in today’s dollars.

The program was part of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), which was signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1973. CETA prepared youth and unskilled adults, particularly economically disadvantaged and those facing serious barriers to employment, for entry into the labor force. The job-training program was essentially an extension of the public employment programs enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s as part of the New Deal. Due to a lack of program effectiveness and governmental accountability, CETA was replaced by subsequent workforce development acts, most recently the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2014.

Contributed by Gwen Kolader on 23 March 2022

Being a global company comes with employing people from all over the world. All individuals in the workforce come with their own unique life stories, backgrounds, beliefs and heritage. “Creating a culture where all Hexawarians feel that they belong and can thrive because of who they are, not despite who they are, is powered by our constant focus on inclusion”, says Gwen Kolader, Global Head DEI. “Building an Inclusive Culture is the top priority at Hexaware, a continuous journey of listening, learning, changing and growing — as individuals, employees, leaders and a company”.

An Inclusive Culture also creates the opportunity to boost diversity in our workforce. A diverse group of people will logically come with multiple, varied ways of thinking, problem-solving and execution, stimulating creativity, innovation and engagement. Building an Inclusive Culture is a necessity for social development and will favorably influence enhancing diverse opportunities. It will also strengthen the potential to tackle unforeseen challenges in the business landscape.

One of the challenges is the War for Talent; worldwide, there is a significant lack of (technical) talent next to the fact that the global workforce is aging. Finding talent outside the standard search profile could potentially tap overlooked talent. Another challenge with regards to the workforce is Retention. Why do people leave your company? This could be for various reasons, but organizations must ensure that the reason is not the lack of acceptance wherein they have been excluded from certain internal processes, overlooked or passed because of bias or prejudices. If you are a human-centric company, a true Inclusive Culture is what should you should strive for. Customer focus is another top priority for Hexaware; supporting and serving our customers, clients, partners and suppliers comes with inclusive ways of working, communicating and connecting. Together with all our important stakeholders, we build strong relationships to create a deeper understanding of the best ways of collaboration.

Over the past years, we have implemented several Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives to support and grow our Inclusive Culture and Diverse workforce. At some events, clients have also joined us for celebrations. Examples of our DEI initiatives:

Global celebrations We globally celebrate different cultural traditions, religions, national remembrance days, spiritual moments and days of importance by sharing and enjoying stories about these festivities. This will support a more unified understanding of each other’s heritage and culture.

Awareness initiatives Every year Hexaware raises awareness about Diversity. By doing this, we are trying to create a culture where people feel accepted and seen. We, for instance, raise more awareness of gender equality by celebrating our women (not only on) International Women’s Day.

Humans of Hexaware This is a treasure trove of beautiful and inspiring stories that celebrate Diversity in Hexaware. We invite employees from different global offices of Hexaware to share their inspiring stories about overcoming challenges, striking a work-life balance, achieving milestones, and experiencing life-changing events. This initiative focuses on increasing awareness and enables connecting at an augmented and informed level.

Women empowerment Last year we started a very powerful program in Hexaware called Rising W@H (Rising Women at Hexaware), a leadership development program designed to create a pool of talented women leaders who can make a significant impact not only within the organization but across the industry, at large. The program contains 6 months of academic learning, 6 months of mentoring by senior leaders and 6 months of special assignments. This program is exposed throughout the company and is sponsored by our CEO.

We hire different The hiring policies are being reviewed to ensure that we hire Inclusive and can tackle potential biases in our hiring processes amongst recruiters and hiring managers.

A commercial driver's license (CDL) allows professionals to operate a variety of vehicles and pursue careers in the transportation industry. Professional drivers may work as long-haul truckers or take local jobs driving buses, making deliveries or supporting business operations. CCAC's CDL program provides training to obtain a Pennsylvania Class A or B/Passenger commercial driver's license.

Program pricing is the same for students residing in Allegheny County and outside of Allegheny County.

The curriculum prepares students to take the CDL Class A or B/Passenger knowledge, skills and road tests.

Knowledge Test: covers general knowledge, passenger vehicles, air brakes, combination vehicles, hazardous materials, tankers and doubles/triples

Skills Test: involves performing a pretrip inspection and various backing and parking maneuvers

Road Test: consists of driving a predetermined route

The curriculum also covers:

Department of Transportation (DOT) and hours of service regulations

Map reading and trip planning

Shifting techniques (if appropriate)

Industry terminology

Career opportunities

Students must first successfully complete Part 1: CDL Driver Theory and obtain their Class A or B/Passenger CDL permit before enrolling in Part 2: CDL Range & Road Training.

The CDL program holds classes monthly with multiple start dates and varying times. Please contact us using the information listed below in order to begin the enrollment process.

This program is located at the Boyce Campus ONLY.