Can Apprenticeships Fix An Accounting Pipeline That’s Drying Up?

FEI Weekly Podcast

It’s no surprise that the pandemic led companies to reevaluate and adjust their approach to hiring. It also led candidates to reassess their professional preferences and priorities. For Wichita, Kansas-based Koch Industries and its companies, this was an opportunity to disrupt the way they view and hire talent in the tax and accounting fields.

Koch developed an apprenticeship program that aimed to bridge the gap between aptitudes, potential, and opportunity. The goal, according to Koch, was to provide non-traditional candidates an opportunity to pursue a fulfilling career at Koch and its companies, regardless of backgrounds, degrees, or certifications.

On this episode of the Financial Executive Podcast, we sit down with Kristi Palmer, Controller for Koch Industries, as well as two current apprentices, Juliana Pruitt and Miguel Sarratud. During our conversation we learn more about Koch’s apprenticeship program and how company leaders say it enables the company to hire contribution-motivated candidates and address talent issues.

And in an era where accounting and finance is looking to broaden its appeal, Koch says that their apprenticeship path takes a unique approach, focusing on the individual and removing barriers for candidates of diverse backgrounds and experiences to pursue a new career path they are passionate about.

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Special Guests: Juliana Pruitt, Kristi Palmer, and Miguel Sarratud.