Sania Kamani wasn’t entirely clear about her path forward, but she knew that four years of traditional college learning in classrooms was not for her.
“Since I was 16, I’ve been building my resume and looking for opportunities to grow, but the idea of becoming stagnant while in college didn’t appeal to me,” she said. “And I never wanted to take on debt to pursue higher education.”
When she was introduced to the registered apprenticeship program at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois, just northwest of Chicago, something clicked.
“The program offers the best of both worlds – a chance to gain a high-quality education while getting paid, and an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a competitive field that I’m passionate about,” she said.
Kamani, now 18, entered the program last year after high school. She saw it firsthand when her high school career advisor hosted a field trip to an information session at a site where apprentices were working.
Now, she is one of 560 apprentices in the 18 programs of study that Harper offers, working with nearly 90 employers, who have from one to 30 apprentices.
The earn-and-learn model
Kamani works in the claims department for the insurance firm Zurich North America, earning wages by logging 24 hours a week on the job and 16 hours doing coursework.
“The earn-and-learn model is incredibly effective. It gives people the opportunity to build real-world experience while continuing their education and getting paid,” she said. “It has allowed me to apply what I’m learning in real time, which not only reinforces my skills but also builds my confidence.”
In her job, Kamani can take theoretical concepts from a classroom course, such as business law and insurance fundamentals, and see how they are applied.
“That connection between school and work makes the experiences meaningful,” she said. “Early on, I found it challenging to grasp the purpose and procedures behind tasks like handling subpoenas and discovery requests. I could complete the tasks, but I didn’t see how they fit into the bigger picture of the claims and litigation process.”
But from the hands-on training and guidance from her colleagues, she “began to connect the dots” and understand the entire process for key firm services, she said.
Marking a decade
This is the 10th year Harper has offered apprenticeships that, according to President Avis Proctor, benefit participating students with a job and debt-free training, a college education and a job opportunity as they graduate. But it is more than a charitable initiative for employers, who get a well-vetted and enthusiastic trainee who more than 95% of the time will move into a permanent position with them. It also helps the college fulfill its mission, Proctor said.
“We have an institutional effectiveness measure that involves not only how we onboard and support students to completion, but also our firm commitment to their success after they leave Harper and enter the workforce or transfer,” she said. “This is one of our strongest programs for meeting that goal and assuring our students’ success when they graduate.”
Along the way, it has been fueled by a growing bank of collaborating employers and a mix of grants from a regional industrial commission, the state and the federal government.
Lessons learned
Michelé Smith, vice president of workforce solutions at Harper, said the college has learned from both “a few bumps in the road” and successes, and found that it is critical to offer paid, federally registered and state-approved apprenticeships with clear responsibilities and expectations for the college, the employer and the student. For the student, that includes assistance with a mandatory resume and employer interview and a written agreement that spells out expectations, which are monitored on a progress report that measures competencies and assesses performance.
Employers formally agree to cover tuition and other costs (ranging from $2,000 to $3,000 per semester) for the students and offer easy and frequent access to a mentor – and then typically the opportunity to be hired permanently. Meanwhile, the college provides the simultaneous course offerings toward a one-year certificate or two- or three-year degree.
“After we got that initial grant and began the program, we saw how this was a win-win-win proposition for our students, our employers and our community,” Smith said. “We’re committing even more resources and added another staff person in the apprenticeship office and a workforce initiatives manager to continue to give students what we call white glove service.”
Growing the opportunities
The 18 apprenticeship offerings at Harper range from industrial maintenance, welding, supply chain management and cyber security, to offerings in finance, insurance, graphic arts, marketing and a range of healthcare positions, Smith said. Almost half were added in the last three years.
To attract and keep employers in the program, she said the college must be responsive and customize the individual apprenticeships for the specific employer needs, including the curriculum the college offers simultaneously. She added that college faculty must also stay aware of the students’ needs, adjust materials and provide support.
Employers now seek out Harper as the program’s reputation for success has grown, but Smith and her staff also engage them through regular marketing campaigns, outreach events and connections with industry and business groups where it might seem they would face skepticism.
“The employers are going to pay a student a salary, pay for school and allow them to work less than 40 hours a week, all while giving them room to learn. So, that might seem like a tricky proposition,” Smith said. “But if employers are looking at the long game, they see that they’ll get an employee they’ve been able to train and nurture who gets their degree and usually very successfully stays in the job.”
The president’s pitch
In April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order pledging federal support for one million apprenticeships a year, though some experts are skeptical about that goal since his proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 aims to cut programs and funding that support apprenticeships.
Proctor applauds the administration’s support for the concept and initial commitment to apprenticeships, but she noted that college leaders are waiting to see how the apprenticeship proposal plays out.
“We’re excited that the administration sees the value of apprenticeships as they did in the first term,” she said. “We’re glad the approach is getting this attention, but it is still early right now to understand where the administration wants to go. We’re paying close attention and are happy to see any efforts to support apprenticeships.”
