The Impact of Registered and Unregistered Apprenticeship: Evidence from Two Federal Grant Programs

• In Event: New Evidence on the Implementation and Impact of Apprenticeship Programs

Abstract

The US Department of Labor's Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) commissioned an evaluation of the Scaling Apprenticeship and Closing the Skills Gap grant programs, including an impact study that estimates the impact of apprenticeship on employment and earnings. Using a quasi-experimental design, the evaluation estimated the impact on ninth quarter post enrollment average employment and earnings relative to two different comparison groups: community college students and Wagner-Peyser employment service recipients.

The research questions are: 1) What is the impact of registered apprenticeships on earnings and employment of participants in the ninth quarter following program enrollment;2) What is the impact of unregistered apprenticeships on earnings and employment of participants in the ninth quarter following program enrollment;3) What are the impacts of registered and unregistered apprenticeships on ninth quarter earnings and employment for different occupational sectors; and,4) What are the impacts of registered and unregistered apprenticeships on ninth quarter earnings and employment for subgroups (sex, race/ethnicity, age, and incumbent worker status)?

Registered apprenticeship programs had large, statistically significant impacts on employment and earnings in the ninth quarter following enrollment relative to both comparison groups. The positive impact of apprenticeship on employment in the ninth quarter following enrollment ranged from 7.8 percentage points (Wagner-Peyser analysis) to 8.8 percentage points (College analysis). Registered apprenticeship’s positive impact on ninth-quarter earnings ranged from $3,230 in the Wagner-Peyser analysis to $4,693 in the College analysis.· Registered apprenticeship had strong ninth-quarter employment and earnings impacts for IT, healthcare and advanced manufacturing, relative to both comparison groups.· Registered apprenticeship had significant ninth-quarter employment and earnings impacts for most subgroups, relative to both comparison groups.· Unregistered apprenticeship programs had large, statistically significant impacts on ninth-quarter employment and earnings relative to both comparison groups. The impact of unregistered apprenticeship on ninth quarter employment ranged from 3.9 percentage points (College analysis) to 4.8 percentage points (Wagner-Peyser analysis). Unregistered apprenticeship’s impact on ninth-quarter earnings ranged from $3,368 (College analysis) to $3,490 (Wagner-Peyser analysis).· Unregistered apprenticeships had strong ninth-quarter employment and earnings impacts for advanced manufacturing.· Unregistered apprenticeship had mixed ninth-quarter employment and earnings impacts for subgroups.

Author

• Jonah Deutsch, Mathematica
  Presenting Author