Registered Apprenticeships in 2020: In February, the U.S. Department of Labor released new statistics on Registered Apprenticeship programs during Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. The following highlight key points from the data:
- In FY 2020, there were over 630,000 apprentices, 26,000 Registered Apprenticeship programs and 82,000 graduates of the Registered Apprenticeship system.
- Since 2011, the number of new apprentices grew by 70%, and new apprenticeship programs grew by 73% since 2009.
- Virginia had the most Registered Apprenticeship programs overall while New Hampshire had the most newly registered programs in FY 2020. Additionally, California had the largest number of overall apprentices, new apprentices and graduates.
- Electrician, carpenter and construction craft laborers were among the occupations with the highest number of apprentices.
Measuring Youth Apprenticeship Quality: The Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA), an initiative of New America, released a youth apprenticeship assessment tool to assist youth apprenticeship stakeholders in determining their programs’ quality and areas of improvement. Guided by each of PAYA’s five principles of quality youth apprenticeships, users reflect on program data to assess strengths and program improvement opportunities related to partnerships, program design and pathway components.
Work-Based Learning Participant Outcomes: A recent study conducted by Strada Education Network reports the benefits of work-based learning on income and post-graduation success. Using nationally representative surveys from 2016 and 2021, researchers studied bachelor’s degree recipients ages 21 to 65 who participated in work-based learning and those who did not. The following summarizes the study’s key findings:
- Participating in any type of work-based learning during one’s undergraduate education predicted a significant increase in annual personal income and a higher satisfaction with the career and education experience.
- Completing a paid internship was associated with an increase of $3,096 in annual wages one year after graduation, while other work-based learning experiences such as unpaid internships, practicums and cooperative learning were not associated with immediate increases in post-graduation earnings.
- Students of color, first-generation students and federal Pell Grant recipients were least likely to have held a paid internship. When looking at field of study, engineering, computer and information sciences, and business students were most likely to have held a paid internship.
Collecting Work-Based Learning Data: This February, the Education Development Center (EDC) released a toolkit to assist district and school leaders in collecting data on student participation in work-based learning. Informed by lessons learned from a multi-year EDC study and using a work-based learning continuum developed by the Linked Learning initiative, this toolkit walks leaders through the process of identifying work-based learning data collection goals, implementing collection processes and using data to improve work-based learning programs. Additionally, the toolkit features guidance for researchers who plan to collect or analyze work-based learning data.
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