What Three High Schoolers Have to Say on the Transformative Impact of Youth Apprenticeships: A recent article by the Brookings Institution described the impact of youth apprenticeships on the employment and postsecondary outcomes of high school students. Specifically, a panel of students shared their experiences and takeaways from the Indianapolis Modern Apprenticeship program. The first two cohorts of this youth apprenticeship included 78 students and 40 employers in diverse fields such as health care, advanced manufacturing, information technology and financial services. The youth apprentices shared that their experiences helped them make more informed postsecondary choices and even helped one young woman earn a scholarship. However, they faced challenges navigating between school, work and extracurricular activities, which can be helped by flexibility from teachers, supervisors and counselors; transportation supports; and preparation activities like mock interviews.
State Funding Models to Support Youth Apprenticeships: Advance CTE and the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA) recently produced a report evaluating state-level youth apprenticeship funding models and systems across the nation and describing sustainable funding strategies to embed youth apprenticeship within states’ career preparation systems. A survey of state CTE directors found that youth apprenticeships are typically funded by block and competitive grants, formula distribution, performance-based funding and allocation to intermediaries, with competitive grants and formula distributions as the most common funding models. Additionally, only eight states reported having dedicated funding for secondary youth apprenticeship programs. The report includes case studies of youth apprenticeship funding in Wisconsin, Utah, Michigan and Georgia.
Decoding the CareerWise Youth Apprentice Journey: The Harvard Business School recently released a report analyzing the success of the Colorado CareerWise Youth Apprenticeship program, which launched its first cohort in 2017. This apprenticeship program was created in partnership with business leaders, education innovators, public officials and other leaders. So far, this program has seen more than 1,400 apprentices hired by over 120 employers. The researchers found that nearly two-thirds of CareerWise students progress to postsecondary education, the workforce or both, with 20% of program participants becoming retained apprentices with the same employer and 27% becoming dedicated postsecondary students. In addition, the researchers found the following:
- Apprentices who are interested in remaining in the career field or industry in which they are apprenticing are much more likely to persist and complete the experience.
- Registered Apprenticeships have higher retention rates than other apprenticeship programs.
- Apprentices are more likely to complete financial services, IT and advanced manufacturing tracks, while business operations and health care tracks have lower retention rates.
- Apprentices from high-poverty schools and Black apprentices are more likely to leave the program in the first year.
Teacher Apprenticeships Are Booming in The Wake of Shortages: Teacher apprenticeship and residency programs across the United States are gaining popularity and momentum as a promising solution to the teacher pipeline problem. Education Week recently released an article detailing the most important facts that leaders and advocates should be aware of as these programs continue to boom. There are currently 16 states with U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship programs for teachers across the country, which opens the opportunity for federal funding to pay for tuition assistance, wages, textbooks and other supportive services. Teacher apprenticeship programs can serve as powerful tools for reducing barriers to entering the teaching field and are often designed for paraprofessionals or high school students with an interest in teaching, with the idea of recruiting individuals who are rooted in a community. Research indicates that teacher apprenticeship and residency models help teachers stay in the field longer and lead to positive student outcomes.
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