Aon, a global risk management, insurance and human resources solutions company, is building an apprenticeship model in the U.S. that mirrors the success of its longtime apprenticeship work in the UK.

According to Aaron Olson, Aon’s chief talent officer, to launch its apprenticeship program, the company is partnering with City Colleges of Chicago’s Harold Washington College to offer students the opportunity to earn their associates degree while getting on-the-job experience. Students in the apprenticeship program will spend 20 hours in the classroom and 20 working each week over a two-year period. They will be paid for their work, and their education will be subsidized. Aon will launch its U.S. apprenticeship program in January 2017.

Aon’s support for College to Careers (C2C) aims to equip college students with industry-recognized credentials and degrees that prepare them to secure jobs in high-growth sectors. As part of the C2C program, Aon talent development function is a business partner working directly with City Colleges faculty and staff to revamp the curriculum, provide internships and give students the opportunity to interview for jobs in high-demand fields.

Aon is so committed to the apprenticeship model it has been calling for other major employers to create apprenticeship programs as well. Senior executives from the company, Zurich North America and Deputy U.S. Secretary of Labor Chris Lu recently met with senior executives from a variety of Chicago-based insurance and financial services companies to discuss the benefits of developing an industry-wide apprenticeship program. At the meeting, Chicago-area leaders from 15 major firms including JPMorgan Chase, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Mesirow Financial, among others, discussed working together to establish an apprenticeship model for the financial services and insurance industries, starting in Chicago.

The jobs created by apprenticeship programs like the one at Aon lead to long-term. Olson said some of the Chicago-meeting attendees said they started out in their careers as apprentices. “It is true that the apprenticeship model creates jobs. But over time what you’re really looking at is a system that holds the promise of delivering long term, well-paying and highly satisfying careers.”