Apprenticeships have been making headlines this week across the country, thanks to a building push among policymakers and business leaders to encourage more students to explore these unique CTE opportunities as a means to build their skills. A New York Times article, “A New Look at Apprenticeships as a Path to the Middle Class,” examines student experiences at the Apprentice School, a Virginia-based postsecondary institution that partners with with Huntington Ingalls Industries, a major shipbuilding company, to train students for their careers while preparing them with a strong academic foundation. The school receives more than 4,000 applicants annually for its roughly 230 spots, according to the article, and equips those lucky enough to join their ranks with technical and employability skills they’ll need in their guaranteed job with the company upon graduation. In addition to their employment, students earn a certification of apprenticeship that demonstrates their competency for future opportunities.
Apprenticeships like those at the Apprentice School have also gained the attention of national policymakers because of their strong opportunities to prepare students for future employment. U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, who spoke during ACTE’s 2015 CareerTech VISION Awards Ceremony about the power of CTE, has made these programs a priority in his work in the Administration, and set a goal of doubling enrollment by 2018.
Perez was featured as a guest on the Diane Rehm Show, a nationally syndicated NPR program, on Tuesday, July 28. During the interview, he stated:
“We have an economic opportunity is what we really have because the wind is at our back economically. We have 5.4 million job openings right now. We've got sector after sector that's bullish about the future here in America and this apprenticeship model is a way to grow the middle class across America in logistics, in healthcare, in IT, in cyber security, in the skilled trades. That's what we can do.”
Perez emphasized throughout the interview the need to change public perceptions of apprenticeships as a lesser alternative to a four-year degree.
ACTE supports apprenticeships as a proven model of CTE that prepares students for college and career success. Let us know in the comments if you know of a business in your community that has taken steps to bring apprenticeships into their workplace!