16: On Aon’s Recipe for Building a Resilient Workforce with Dawn Spreeman-Heine and Marc Armstrong

What does it take to find and attract the next generation of talent? In a world where talent is distributed equally across the board but opportunities aren’t, Aon is working hard to bring the greatest talent into the company (and the broader workforce) with their award-winning apprenticeship program. In this episode of “On Aon,” host Alexandra Lewis, Chief Marketing Officer, Reinsurance, welcomes Marc Armstrong, Managing Principal and Dawn Spreeman-Heine, Managing Director of Commercial Risk for a conversation about the ways that corporate apprenticeships can expand access to incredible talent and create family-sustaining careers that strengthen our communities. They cover ways to build a resilient workforce and the power of apprentices in boosting diversity and attracting and retaining quality talent.

• Marc highlights the importance of Aon apprenticeships in an increasingly difficult talent acquisition and retention world. [1:16]
• The expansion of the Aon U.S. Apprenticeship Program to six additional cities. [4:00]
• What benefits and training can new apprentices expect from this widely successful program? [5:52]
• Aon’s work to increase awareness of and interest in the apprentice program – and what other employers can do. [7:10]
• How this effective talent strategy creates great opportunities in cities around the country. [9:45]
• Key benefits for the employers who take advantage of the program. [11:32]
• The impact of the apprentice program on Dawn’s professional and personal life. [13:04]
• The satisfaction of bringing this program to Marc’s hometown and the lessons he’s learning from the apprentices. [14:01]

Additional Resources:

Aon’s website

More information: for potential Aon apprentices and employers interested in launching an apprenticeship program.

In 2021, Aon launched programs in Houston, New York, Northern California, Minnesota, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Aon was recently named to Fortune’s Change the World List for its apprenticeship program, and won a 2021 TARGETjobs National Graduate Recruitment Award for a similar program in the UK.

Tweetables:

“We know that when we have a more diverse group of colleagues sitting around the table working on client problems, we come up with better solutions.” — Marc Armstrong

“The return on this investment has proven to be well worth it.” — Dawn Spreeman-Heine

“This program is a game changer for our apprentices.” — Marc Armstrong

“Talent is equally distributed throughout the population but opportunities are not.” — Marc Armstrong

“I’m full of optimism and hope, and I’m going to attribute much of that to this program.” — Dawn Spreeman-Heine