Use employer-based earn-and-learn apprenticeship as a workforce training pathway outside traditional construction occupations¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 1 claim (1 mixed) · 1 study (1 qualitative), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

The report positions apprenticeship as a viable training pathway beyond its traditional construction base: apprentices are employed during training, combine classroom instruction with mentored on-the-job training at the employer's worksite, and earn progressively higher wages. The authors state the findings "confirm the effectiveness of apprenticeship—particularly outside of traditional construction occupations—as a viable pathway to higher-quality jobs," and that DOL aims to expand apprenticeship to a range of nontraditional occupations through its grant programs.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Employer participation providing on-the-job training under a mentor at the worksite, combined with classroom-based instruction, with apprentices employed and earning progressively higher wages during training

Constraints¶

• Evidence comes from programs funded by the two DOL grant programs (2019–2020 awards); findings measured in the ninth quarter following enrollment

Target Learners¶

• Adult workers and jobseekers, including those in IT, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing occupations

Target Learning Goals¶

• Occupational skill development and employment and earnings gains in nontraditional apprenticeship sectors

Claims¶

• Some employers were reluctant to hire new apprentices during pandemic economic uncertainty, but no mass cancellations of apprenticeships were reported [~W]

Related Strategies¶

• Use updated occupational education and retraining programs, including cooperative on-the-job instruction, to re-employ workers displaced by technological change
• Use virtual engagement and online training delivery to sustain and extend apprenticeship system operations during disruptions
• Retrain workers for occupations complementary to, rather than competing with, automation

Examples¶

-

Key Sources¶

• Jonah Deutsch, Daniel Kuehn, Karen Gardiner, Deborah Reed, Julia Payne, Moriah Macklin, Ariella Spitzer, Peter Schochet, Astrid Harnack-Eber, Peter Kress. (2026). The Impact of Registered and Unregistered Apprenticeship: Evidence from the Scaling Apprenticeship and Closing the Skills Gap Grants. Urban Institute. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/the-impact-of-registered-and-unregistered-apprenticeship