Expanding apprenticeships benefits students and business

Today, there is a widening gap in the United States between the skills employers are looking for and the skills potential employees have. Employers are searching for graduates with the needed “employable skills” to grow their businesses that also provide an economic pathway into the middle class for their employees.

According to a report from Jobs For The Future (JFF), 81% of employers think they should be hiring based on the skills someone has, rather than the degree they were awarded. Between 2020 and 2030, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that about 60% of new jobs in the economy will be in occupations that don’t typically require an associate, bachelor or graduate degree. The time has come to relook at apprenticeship programs which offer a low-cost or debt-free education to a substantial number of students who initially don’t need or want to earn a college degree.

Apprenticeship programs, where individuals earn a living while learning with a mentor, are turning the workplace into the new learning campus. This learnand-earn model is spawning new apprenticeship programs based on traditional registered apprenticeships, including pre-apprenticeships, mini-apprenticeships, youth apprenticeships and apprenticeship degrees.

This expansion of apprenticeship programs has solid support among Americans, including employers and young adults, especially from Gen Z. An American Staffing Association survey found more than 9 in 10 Americans (92%) have a favorable view of apprenticeships, with more than 6 in 10 (62%) saying that apprenticeships make people more employable than going to college. More than two-thirds of Gen Z high schoolers say their ideal post-high school learning should be on the job, through internships or apprenticeships. Only a third say their ideal learning would be only through coursework.

High school apprenticeship programs combine work-based, on-the-job learning with relevant technical education in the classroom. Students who participate in these programs graduate with a high school diploma and earn college credits and industry credentials. High school apprenticeships benefit businesses as well by providing a fresh source of talent developed from within their community.

Apprenticeship programs largely succeed in preparing individuals for rewarding employment. For example, one study of registered apprenticeships shows that workers can earn $240,000 more over their lifetime — $300,000 when including benefits — by participating in such a program.

Another study documents how states are creating new pre-apprenticeship programs as short as one to three weeks or as long as eight weeks to introduce a more diverse pool of traditionally underrepresented groups to apprenticeships. Some states are also experimenting with high school programs for as long as two years.

On the K-12 education front, the apprenticeship model is being used to create debt-free teacher apprenticeships that award bachelor’s and master’s degrees. The earn-and-learn apprenticeship model is making the workplace the new campus, and this model is sprouting new apprenticeship programs in many different fields.

In most states like Virginia, the Youth Registered Apprenticeship programs are still evolving in response to the needs of students, employers and partners. Youth apprenticeship programs exist at the intersection of education and workforce development, serving young people and employers by connecting the learning needs of youth with the talent and skill needs of industry.

Now is the time to recommit the nation to expanding more new-collar career pathways into the middle class through apprenticeships and other skills-based programs.