Op-Ed: Are We Waiting Too Long to Train Our Leaders?

Ryan Mallmann (pictured above) is the Human Resources Manager at HDT Global in Spokane, Washington. HDT Global began working with AJAC in March 2022 and has enrolled 17 apprentices into AJAC’s Operations Specialist and Industrial Maintenance Technician apprenticeship programs. 

 

---

 

With limited resources for in-house training and development classes for our Operations Supervisors, we needed help us navigate the growing issues we faced with a group of inexperienced supervisors facing the challenges of the post pandemic workforce. After internal discussions we knew AJAC would be a great place to start. We first learned about AJAC in the fall of 2021 during a Committee Meeting for Workforce Development and after the meeting invited AJAC employees for an onsite tour. From there we discussed various options for not only finding new employees, but options for further developing our current staff. The Operations Specialist apprenticeship program is exactly what we needed. We initially enrolled nine supervisors in hopes they would attain better skills in monitoring and building daily production goals, improve on internal communication, get a strong base foundation on the principles of LEAN and 6 Sigma, and better understand Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.

We were excited to be one of, if not the first company in Spokane to sign up to be an approved Training Agent (partnering employer) for the Operations Specialist apprenticeship. This provided us with a competitive advantage, as our apprenticeship program requires participants to remain employed with us to be eligible. It helps us build trust that we’re committed to our apprentices, and our apprentices are committed to us. If you are willing to invest in yourself, the company will invest in you!

For many of our employees, the apprenticeship program is less daunting than enrolling in a college program. From a return on investment standpoint, the class offerings directly correlate to our supervisors daily responsibilities and implementing a cohort model helps foster a better culture of teamwork amongst our supervisors. Perhaps the best endorsement of the program we can provide is the commitment made by AJAC’s employees to help all students succeed. No matter the issues apprentices are having, all they have to do is ask for help and they receive it. Not all educational programs can claim that.

HDT Global AJAC Apprentices

Image 1 of 9

While there might not be a clear consensus on the impact this program has had on our overall company culture, there has been a huge impact on the culture among the supervisors. Supervisors who improve themselves find it easier to inspire their team to embrace the idea of acquiring new skills and exploring new opportunities. We have also observed that during meetings, supervisors and team leads enrolled in the Operations Specialist Apprenticeship program are more comfortable asking questions, challenging ideas, and, most importantly, more confident in communicating challenging messages to their teams.

 As we anticipate our first set of four graduates this summer, we remain committed to making the AJAC Operations Specialist Apprenticeship a training requirement for both our current supervisors and our team leads. Leads will need to complete the apprenticeship going forward to be considered for a Supervisor position. So often new supervisors are thrown to the wolves and receive no formal training, and we have been guilty of that ourselves in the past.

With the success of our employees currently enrolled through AJAC’s Operations Specialist program, we have started offering another program to help us bridge the skill gaps that companies so often do not fill in. All three members of our Maintenance team enrolled in the Industrial Maintenance Technician Apprenticeship program in January 2024.

Thank you, 

Ryan Mallmann

HR Manager

About HDT Global

Headquartered in Solon, Ohio, USA, HDT Global is a leading manufacturer and integrator of state-of-the-art, unmanned, platform, and expeditionary solutions across defense, aerospace and government markets. HDT Spokane (formerly known as Berg Manufacturing) is located in Spokane Valley and produces rigid wall shelter systems. Considered the standard in the rigid wall shelter category, HDT’s Berg™ rigid wall shelters are modular, flexible and fully-customizable. Available as an expandable system or non-expandable shelter, Berg rigid wall shelters can be transported by air, land or sea, are ISO 1496-1 compliant and can be stacked up to nine high. Expandable systems can be configured as kitchens, medical facilities, showers, billets or command centers and can be deployed rapidly with just a few personnel. Berg non-expandable shelters are ideal for customers who require a solution that is rapidly-deployable, self-contained and ready to use.