let svc help you prepare a new generation of designers for success.

  • Amazon UX Apprentices

    build your own talent pipeline.

    If your organization isn’t hitting its hiring goals — especially for diversity — it’s probably not for lack of effort. There’s simply not a very plentiful pipeline of candidates from underrepresented groups. That’s why creating your own pipeline with a registered apprenticeship program makes exceptional sense. You can vet candidates and then train them (with SVC’s help) for success and longevity.

  • Amazon Spheres

    we delivered success to amazon.

    When Amazon partnered with SVC to train two cohorts of 32 UX design and research apprentices, the goal was to retain 60% of the trainees in on-going roles. At the conclusion of the nearly year-long apprenticeship program, an astounding 96% — all but one — of the apprentices had moved into full-time design positions.

  • Two people looking at a computer screen

    apprenticeships do more than add headcount.

    There are solid business reasons for bringing people onto your team via apprenticeships. For one, it makes sense that you can’t design products for all kinds of people unless all kinds of people are involved in the design. But there’s a great societal benefit to hiring apprentices: You’ll be removing unintended bias from your products while making legitimate improvements in the well-being of often marginalized groups.

View Apprenticeships PDF

1. Better return on your recruiting investment: Apprenticeships ultimately cost less than recruiting and onboarding new talent through traditional channels.

2. Assured performance level of new hires: You can confidently bring apprentices into full-time roles knowing they’ve been properly trained in the latest best practices — an essential safeguard in fields like UX design and research where practices become out of date rapidly.

3. Recruited talents will be well-versed in your culture and processes: Unlike talent sourced traditionally, apprentices will have lived your company’s culture and workflow through on-the-job training.

4. Reduce churn and the need to rehire and onboard: Apprentices tend to be much more loyal to their companies. They appreciate the opportunities they’ve been given and so tend to stay around much longer.

5. Build pride and engagement among all employees: An apprenticeship program signals to your entire team that the company is seriously committed to diversity and equity — a source of pride (and retention) for all employees.

6. Involvement in mentorship and teaching provide personal growth: An apprenticeship program gives employees a chance to contribute through teaching and mentoring during on-the-job training (OJT). These roles give those who take advantage of them the opportunity for fulfillment and development of their leadership skills.

Advantages of a design and RESEARCH apprenticeship program:

  • All apprenticeship training programs are custom designed to provide the technical and soft skills your organization requires. SVC would be happy to work with you to scope and cost out a program.

  • Yes. SVC partners with Apprenti, one of the leading national apprenticeship administration firms. They handle compliance with Department of Labor regulations for apprenticeships, can help you secure DOL and state agency grants and subsidies, and they can also source apprenticeship candidates.

  • Because the classroom training is provided remotely via Zoom, candidates can be from anywhere in North America. If your organization expects apprentices to do at least some of their on-the-job training in person, then it would make sense to restrict recruiting to cities where you have design teams.

  • Apprentices’ classroom performance is monitored and documented every step of the way by SVC, culminating in a final presentation viewed and evaluated by instructors, SVC, and hiring managers from throughout your organization.

    In addition to the advice SVC will provide on an apprentice’s fitness for an ongoing position, sponsors are encouraged to set specific expectations on what it will take to successfully convert to a full-time role.

    You are not obligated to offer ongoing roles to all apprentices. That said, in most tech apprenticeship programs, 8 out of 10 apprentices receive full-time offers at the completion of their program.

  • Sponsors typically pay 60-70% of an entry-level design salary either during the entire 12 months of a registered apprenticeship program or only during the on-the-job training portion. Some apprenticeship sponsors do not pay a salary or offer benefits during the classroom training period, but offer apprentices a stipend to assist with living expenses.

  • No. Amazon is still in the planning phase for its next apprenticeship. If you’re interested in applying, should Amazon offer this program again, keep an eye on the Amazon Jobs website.