Aon insurance firm is launching a five-year, $30 million financial apprenticeship program in seven U.S. cities, including Minneapolis.

The effort, dubbed the Apprenticeship Network, will start with 100 hires within the next year in cities that also include Chicago, Houston and San Francisco, the insurer said last month. Aon has pledged to expand the program to 10,000 financial apprentices by 2030 at the insurer and other partner companies.

"This is an innovative way for employers to attract and retain diverse talent, prepare future leaders and contribute to building a more future-focused, resilient workforce," said Greg Case, chief executive of Aon, which also offers financial and other professional services.

In Minnesota, Aon will work with Accenture, Best Buy, Cargill, Pohlad Cos. and Daugherty Business Solutions to expand the program that targets job candidates who may not have considered careers as human resource specialists, IT analysts, accountants or bankers or insurance specialists, company officials said.

In other cities, Aon's partners include Accenture, JP Morgan Chase, the Hartford and Zurich Insurance to expand the reach of the Apprenticeship Network.

Each apprenticeship will last two years and involve on-the-job training in an entry-level financial job. It also will pay for an associate degree at a local community college — in Minnesota, Normandale Community College.

The apprenticeship idea began in Chicago in 2017 as a pilot program and partnership between Aon and Accenture.

The expansion comes during a tight labor market and also amid pressure to diversify the pipeline of job candidates entering the financial industry. Many companies made new inclusivity and equity pledges following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.

Bridget Gainer, who leads Aon's apprenticeship program, said the company's Minneapolis office had long requested help to diversify its office and was in the process of launching its apprenticeship program when the protests erupted nationally over Floyd's killing.

By expanding the apprenticeship program to cities nationwide, Aon hopes to do more than "just make a statement or make a charitable contribution, but to do something that really is transformative," said Gainer in a phone interview.

"It's incredibly important that you are training people for long-term careers," she said. "So this is a part of our investment in them."

If successful, the new job training will also solve a problem.

"There are a lot of open jobs and not a lot of people looking for them," so the move to expand the pilot apprenticeship program beyond Chicago and into different cities "is a talent play," said Raymond Longo, Aon's resident managing director in Minneapolis, where the firm has roughly 500 employees.

Longo's office has already hired 12 apprentices this year and will add eight more next year. His office is working with Greater MSP and the Project for Pride in Living and is posting applications online as a way to reach interested candidates.

To apply for the program, e-mail ava.heinrich@aon.com or call 952807-0689.