In today’s technological world, you’d probably be surprised if you went to apply for a job and were told that you could only do so by filling out documents by hand and then faxing them over or dropping them off in person. That’s often the reality for workers looking to apply for apprenticeship programs. They
In today’s technological world, you’d probably be surprised if you went to apply for a job and were told that you could only do so by filling out documents by hand and then faxing them over or dropping them off in person.
That’s often the reality for workers looking to apply for apprenticeship programs. They find themselves entering an outdated application process that can sometimes discourage them from even finishing the paperwork needed to secure them a position.
Milwaukee-based software-as-a-service startup Appion Solutions is hoping to streamline and modernize the application process for apprenticeship programs.
Appion Solutions officially launched this summer and was co-founded by Mike Harris, former chief executive officer of Patina Solutions and principal of Harris Advisors.
[caption id="attachment_577524" align="alignleft" width="300"] Mike Harris[/caption]
He sold Patina Solutions to Los Angeles-based Korn Ferry in 2022 and stayed on with the company until the end of the year. While deciding what his next career step would be, he leaned on two colleagues he had worked with in the past: Jeff Hart, who is now Appion Solution’s chief growth officer, and Lloyd Ebert, who ran IT services at Patina Solutions for over a decade and is now the chief technology officer and president of Appion Solutions.
Ebert alerted Harris to the fact that through his own IT business, he developed software for a pair of local ironworker unions looking to modernize.
“A lot of people were using a pen and paper and they were chasing documents and faxing things over if they were candidates for an apprenticeship program,” said Harris. “Lloyd basically said if you let me automate that stuff, it will be a lot easier.”
Together, the trio of men decided to move forward with launching a new company centered on the software initially developed by Ebert.
Appion’s software is cloud-based and mobile friendly. The software makes it easier for workers to apply to apprenticeship programs while also allowing unions and other organizations to simply monitor key data including hours worked and performance feedback.
[caption id="attachment_577523" align="alignleft" width="300"] Jeff Hart[/caption]
Two local unions, including Iron Workers Local 8, are currently using Appion’s software. So far, 5,000 applications have been started and 750 people have been moved into an active apprenticeship.
“The software allows people to focus on the things that are important, the training time and the relationships,” said Hart.
The lack of a modern application system is exacerbating an ongoing issue. The country’s shortage of skilled workers is only expected to grow and Iron Workers International projects a shortage of 10,000 journeymen in the next few years. This is on top of an aging and retiring workforce.
“(Unions) were losing candidates because their application processes were from 25 years ago,” said Harris. “You can’t do that. There’s so much demand and all it takes is for one person to say, ‘I’m not going to fax my document. Are you kidding me?’”
As the company gains clients, asking what those organizations need from their software will be key to how Appion Solutions continues to grow. For example, after recently gaining a new client in Canada, the Appion Solutions team built out a unique module that will inform a union if a large group of ironworkers is getting ready to finish a project and will become available for work. Hart said typically, this data would be kept on a written list that might not be the most organized.
“You’d think there would be some sort of magical system to put all these pieces together, but there’s not,” he said.
Appion Solutions is in the middle of raising a $1 million seed round. The startup, which currently has seven employees, has raised about 85% of that money so far.
The company’s board includes Bryan Albrecht, past president of Gateway Technical College; Ann Hanna, managing director of Milwaukee-based Taureau Group; and Robert Hopton, the former chief executive officer of Madison-based Health eFilings.
Moving forward, the company hopes to capitalize on the markets for youth and corporate apprenticeships. Within a year, Harris hopes Appion Solutions will reach 40 customers.
