The Workforce Data Quality Campaign and National Skills Coalition recently released a white paper titled, Counting Registered Apprenticeship Completions. The paper sets the stage by outlining the recent federal investment in apprenticeships.
In 2018, Congress appropriated $145 million to expand registered apprenticeships. Since 2017, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) has allocated over $100 million to thirty-six states to help them expand innovative apprenticeship approaches. Considering the significant federal investment in apprenticeships, states should take care to effectively align how they are spending this funding with their broader workforce and education goals. One way to do this is to collect data that allows them to count registered apprenticeship certificates within their postsecondary attainment goals, thereby showing how registered apprenticeships can help narrow the skills gap.
What data is your program collecting on learners in apprenticeships? What methods are you using to collect this data? What are your challenges to collecting this data?
Mike Cruse
Career Pathways Moderator
michaelcruse74@gmail.com