Correcting myths about apprenticeships

Robert Lerman has spent years making the case for robust apprenticeship programs in the United States. The 2024 McGraw Prize in Education recipient has shown how employers and employees around the world have benefited from apprenticeship programs that lead to family-sustaining careers.

But many myths around apprenticeships still exist. During a recent McGraw Prize webinar, Lerman offered evidence that with a little support, apprenticeships are ready to scale in the United States.

Here are three key takeaways:

It’s not just about the trades

In the US, many people think of apprenticeships as training for the building trades. That’s unfortunately limiting.

“You can apply apprenticeship to almost any occupation,” Lerman said. “In a number of other countries, maybe half or 60 percent, or in Switzerland 70 percent, of young people enter their careers through apprenticeship.”

According to Lerman, in Switzerland, 95 percent of adults will either have a college degree or have completed an apprenticeship by age 25.

Public safety, banking, the health professions, and teaching are just some of the fields where apprenticeships can thrive.

“If we look to the UK, it’s harder to get into the Rolls-Royce engineering apprenticeship program than it is to get into Oxford or Cambridge,” Lerman said.

The first step is to try

Even employers who are enthusiastic about the idea of apprenticeship have largely been muddling through according to Lerman. That reflects the significant shift in recruitment, training, and human resources policies to launch a large-scale apprenticeship program.

But it can be done with the help of apprenticeship experts Lerman refers to as intermediaries. After South Carolina hired consultants to help businesses make the shift, the state saw the number of employers offering apprenticeships jump from around 90 to nearly 600.

The public is ready

There is a perception that many American parents want their children to go to college, and that preference is holding apprenticeships back.

Not so.

A recent American Compass survey found that, if given the choice, the majority of parents would prefer a three-year apprenticeship that led to a credential and a well-paying job than a full-tuition college scholarship. Even in households where both parents have a bachelor’s degree, the 45 percent of respondents said they would prefer their child take an apprenticeship tied to a career path.

Welcome to the community

Studies show tremendous return on investment for apprenticeship programs. The Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education, Lerman notes, can show its apprenticeships put people on a path to earn six-figures annually within five years.

But there’s more than just the money.

“The one other thing that is important to recognize about apprenticeship is not just the earnings gains, but the notion of a sense of pride in your occupation,” Lerman said. “Apprenticeships convey that kind of pride because you know you’ve really accomplished something that is useful to your employer and useful to you, and you are part of a community of practice.”