OSE Apprenticeship Recruiting Strategy
We are designing a method for recruiting 24 candidates to the OSE Apprenticeship over a short period of 3 months. Normally, recruiting for a significant program may take much longer, so to recruit successfully on a much shorter scale, we are taking the following steps to widen reach. This has costs of approximately $250k, but can be crowdfunded in many ways as the list implies.
Tuition Funding
- Scholarships - Offering full scholarships to exceptional candidates. Each year's tuition costs approximately $15k, so this can take significant funding. If the organizer is interested in an aggressive campaign, this can cost $60k per student. Perhaps a reasonable option is providing full tuition for 4 exceptional candidates.
- Promote Sponsorships for Tuition - There are numerous entrepreneurs that would love to fund a young person to transform their community or local area. Or, it can be motivated by offering someone abuild at reduced cost in the future, counting on the OSE $120k vs industry standard $180k - so a person invests $15k today for a $60k result down the road.
- Microloans - Promoting 0% Kiva Microloans to entrepreneurs, up to $15k and 3 year term - meaning apprenticeship participants can pay as they go. This is just another way for students to pay their way.
- Scholarship Fund - OSE sets up a crowdsourced tuition fund - chip in to support 50% tuition for one (or more) candidates
Broadening Audience
- Start locally. Promote to the local high school and area. Start making noise in local tech school fairs.
- Tech School Track. Diversify to include a 'Tech School' option as opposed to 'save the world option' - but without eliminating the lifelong learning aspect. Include a 'Tech School Track'
- Veterans Track. Develop programs for veterans. OSE is already partly connected, and this is a great opportunity for additional funding - such as GI Bill for OJT (on-job training), VRRAP, VR&E, Non-paid Work Experience Training, etc..
- Promote an international audience. While the program can accept candidates globally. F1 visas allow 20 hours of work-study, which fits our program well. While challenging to obtain, this is an option. Canada and Bermuda are exempt [1]. T
Promotion
Hire out pro marketing assistance - quality video and distribution.- LinkedIn - promote, but reach out to entrepreneurs wanting to train someone in their town. We will reward you with a house build at cost for a 1200 sf starter home if you fund a student for 2 years. Have a limited number of these.
- College Fairs - get feedback from students - what do they like? Is the response positive, or is the college-track audience a dud?
- Home Schoolers, alt ed - such as Acton Academy Launchpad
- Virtual college fairs - National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) is hosting a Virtual College Fair on Sunday, April 27, 2025, from 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM (ET). Signup [2]
Other
- Home Builders Institute - [3]
