In April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order for a plan to “reach and surpass one million new active apprentices” annually. The initiative calls for a rapid expansion of training programs and introduction of registered apprenticeships into industries that have not traditionally used them.
Trump’s vision for apprenticeships faces several hurdles, including cost and the long-term commitment required from employers. This work is challenging for small- and mid-sized businesses that are more focused on day-to-day operations than building a talent pipeline.
During a late April press conference, Trump criticized previous administrations’ investments in higher education, stating that programs like the 2014 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act do not have the incentives necessary to meet workforce training needs. Yet, with no plans to grow the program through additional federal funding, organizations will need to find alternative financial models to meet Trump’s goals, note observers interviewed by Community College Daily.
Workforce-focused nonprofit and community college leaders also question whether there are enough qualified registered apprenticeships available domestically, while pointing to European training models as a means of meeting new labor demands.
Assessing the scenario
Creating one million new apprenticeships per year would be an enormous boost to the U.S. employee base, says John Colborn, executive director of Apprenticeships for America, a nonprofit that seeks to scale work-based learning to a level comparable with other advanced economies.
Currently, the country hosts 561,000 civilian and 117,000 military apprenticeships, per figures from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The U.S. still lags behind other developed nations in its use of apprenticeships. For instance, the share of apprentices in the labor force in France and the United Kingdom is eight to 10 times higher than the 0.33% share in the U.S.
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Growing that base stateside is vital for populations not ready or uninterested in a traditional college track, Colborn says.
“College does not serve all learners or employers, so we need another pathway to secure those skills,” Colborn says. “People can get jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree. They may be going through an expensive and time-consuming process for outcomes they could have gotten much easier.”
Getting a head start
If apprenticeships are to be our economic backbone, it’s vital to understand how this work has evolved over the years, Colborn says. Although apprenticeships have traditionally focused on manual skills such as construction, carpentry and automotive repair, countries including Germany and Switzerland are providing “learn-and-earn” opportunities in white-collar occupations as well.
Under Germany’s “dual system,” apprentices divide time between academic learning at a vocational school and hands-on, practical training at a company. In Germany, apprenticeships are a common path for young people, with 50% to 70% of 16- to 19-year-olds participating in the programs. In contrast, the average age of an apprentice in the U.S. is 28.
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Beginning this work in high school would mark a significant and beneficial shift for the U.S. apprenticeship model, says Kristen McKenna, dean of workforce and economic development at Bunker Hill Community College. The Massachusetts college plans to offer a pre-apprenticeship course in emergency medical services, preparing high-school juniors for pathways into paramedic certification. The college also provides a teacher apprenticeship degree for paraprofessionals eager to further their education.
Generally, community colleges and K-12 schools alike can be more agile in building a talent pipeline for industries that need help now, McKenna says.
“Community colleges are well-suited for getting your foot in the door and learning basic skills,” she says. “We’re the ideal organization for this.”
Earn-and-learn advocates say apprenticeships combine practical learning with the market power of a college degree. This “economic mobility” is especially critical for community college students who can’t afford a pricey training program, McKenna says.
“Apprenticeships are a way to help individuals who don’t have the means to attend a four-year college,” she says. “These people can’t go into a training program if the cost isn’t covered.”
A clearer path to programming
The main challenge of developing apprenticeships often starts with employers, who either know little of their inner workings or worry about a potential return on investment. Wage progression is a specific sticking point for many organizations, McKenna says.
“They feel like they’re paying for an employee who’s not as productive as they could be if they were fully trained,” McKenna says. “And they’re worried about paying staff to mentor an apprentice instead of doing their job. Those are the short-term considerations that hold companies back.”
In reality, apprenticeship programs are a profitable investment, yielding a return of $1.44 to $1.48 for every dollar invested, according to studies from DOL and Jobs for the Future. ROI is driven by faster role fulfillment, lower turnover rates and the development of a highly skilled, productive workforce that contributes to the company’s bottom line.
Viewpoint: How community colleges can realize the full potential of apprenticeships
Up-front work around staffing and mentorship can be accelerated through relationships with unions, industry associations and training firms. State apprenticeship departments, meanwhile, can provide funding to support curriculum design and program implementation. An established support network will also help prepare a mentor for the daily challenges of working alongside an apprentice, McKenna says.
“The network will have your back, and will build a training system with your input to develop a loyal worker who has the skills needed to be successful,” she says. “With time, your workforce needs will become easier and less expensive, because this system is in place to train and mentor new or incumbent workers.”
Cut red tape
Actually plugging into existing apprenticeship frameworks is notoriously cumbersome, especially for small companies, says Vinz Koller, vice president of the Center for Apprenticeship & Work-Based Learning at Jobs for the Future (JFF). Unlike large corporations with dedicated human resources teams, small businesses can get lost in extensive paperwork or simply misunderstand how to develop a structured program that meets specific government standards.
In its Apprenticeship Policy Blueprint, JFF calls on federal policymakers to streamline the registration process and increase program flexibility.
“Let’s simplify how to register these programs on an occupational level,” Koller says. “Like give all civil engineers a path with a single registry. If we add that for all occupations, it would make a huge difference.”
The blueprint also calls for clearer registration timelines to help employers launch their programs more quickly. States like California use specialized online portals harnessed by both apprentices and employers. California also funds nonprofit and workforce boards that manage the administrative burden of apprenticeships for companies.
In the meantime, outreach is key to dispelling the myth that apprenticeships are only for the construction trades. Expansion of these initiatives into new industries can provide career opportunities that many Americans had never before imagined, Koller says.
“What scares young people from areas like engineering is the college syllabus,” he says. “But when they access that same pathway through work-based learning, it becomes a different proposition. It’s not just slogging through books – you have someone on site helping you, and you’re getting a check. This is the narrative shift that must happen.”
