Context Matters: Opportunities and Lessons from Adapting and Scaling Apprenticeships Across Service Environments

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Apprenticeship is an earn-while-you-learn model that allows jobseekers to develop specific occupational skills in high-demand careers while earnings wages that increase as they attain skills. Apprenticeships lead to long-term earnings increases that outpace those of similar workers and lead to lifelong differences in labor market earnings,. Apprenticeship also benefits employers. However, apprenticeship remains underutilized in the US and apprentices don’t reflect the demographics of the workforce. However, federal and state investments over the past decade sought to diversity apprenticeship occupations and increase opportunities for all Americans.Apprenticeship is a flexible training model. Employers can tailor programs to meet the needs of their workforce. To continue to grow apprenticeship in the US, apprenticeship programs need to address the needs of employers and apprentices, which vary based on the contexts in which they operate. This panel provides evidence from four implementation studies that demonstrate ways apprenticeship programs can be tailored to specific industries and populations. This panel will include: Siobhan Mills De La Rosa, Senior Researcher, American Institutes for Research. Ms. De La Rosa will share findings from the Upward Apprenticeship Initiative, focusing on insights from interviews with state apprenticeship agencies, community colleges, employers, and apprentices as well as a policy scan. Ms. Mills De La Rosa will discuss how the enabling conditions at the state- and local-level allow programs to scale and stakeholder insights on what is needed to effectively expand and scale apprenticeship, especially leveraging intermediaries and community colleges. Karen Gardiner, Senior Fellow, Urban Institute. Ms. Gardiner will present implementation findings from the US Department of Labor-funded Scaling Apprenticeship and Closing the Skills Gap grants. These grants are part of DOL’s efforts to expand apprenticeship in high demand sectors for skilled workers to a wide range of Americans, including individuals underrepresented in apprenticeships. Grants were operated in a range of service environment including colleges, industry or employer associations, labor unions, and workforce intermediaries. Ryan Ruggiero, Researcher, Mathematica. Ms. Ruggiero will present findings from a U.S. Department of Labor study of inmates enrolled in registered apprenticeship programs in state and local correctional facilities. The presentation will share findings from interviews with sponsors who operate registered apprenticeship programs in correctional facilities, including lessons learned on establishing and scaling programs in the correctional context, successful strategies for recruiting inmates into RA programs, innovative approaches to delivery, and examples from states. The presentation will also cover national trends in program enrollment, completion, and occupations for corrections-based apprenticeship programs. Taylor White, Director, Post-Secondary Pathways for Youth, New America. White will share findings from focus groups conducted as a part of Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship. Findings highlight students’, parents’, and young adults’ perceptions of postsecondary pathways and youth apprenticeship. Building on 2017 research, the project explored how families are weighing college, career preparation, and financial risk, and how exposure to earn-and-learn options shapes their confidence about life after high school. Participants expressed a continued belief in the value of postsecondary education, but also growing concern about college costs, and increasing interest in alternative pathways.

Policy Area

• Employment and Training Programs

Chair

• Jillian Berk, Mathematica

Discussant

• Christina Yancey, American Institutes for Research

Organizer

• Siobhan Mills De La Rosa, American Institutes for Research

Individual Presentations

• Opportunities for Expanding and Scale: Lessons from the Apprenticeship Ecosystem - Presenting Author: Siobhan Mills De La Rosa, American Institutes for Research

• Implementation of Apprenticeships: Evidence from Two Federal Grant Programs - Presenting Author: Karen N Gardiner, Urban Institute

• A National Portrait of Registered Apprenticeships in Corrections - Presenting Author: Ryan M Ruggiero, Mathematica

• Attitudes about Youth Apprenticeship: Focus group findings from parents, recent and current high school students - Presenting Author: Taylor White, New America