By Taylor Maag and Zach Boren
Surprisingly, President Biden and former President Trump have common ground on a key workforce policy: more apprenticeships. Both presidents support “earn while you learn” opportunities by incentivizing apprenticeships with employers and using their executive powers to expand them. Earlier this year, President Biden issued an executive order focused on expanding Registered Apprenticeship programs in the federal government, while former President Trump established an apprenticeship advisory committee — led by notable CEOs — aimed at broadening their availability across the country.
A bipartisan policy of “more apprenticeships” is especially relevant now, when most good-paying jobs require at least some postsecondary education and employers report a serious shortage of skilled workers. It’s a policy that meets two needs with one deed — apprenticeships help reduce student debt and address employers’ workforce needs in a tight labor market. Tax incentives for apprenticeships have even gained bipartisan support in Congress, uniting conservatives and progressives. They have been successfully implemented in countries like Canada, the U.K., and Australia, where they have far more employer-sponsored apprenticeships on a per-capita basis.
Amidst this need and interest, many Americans still view a four-year degree as the only path to economic security. Yet the reality is that the majority, 62% of American adults, don’t have one. What’s more, the college earnings premium is declining due to skyrocketing tuition costs and low completion rates, and fewer young people attend college now than in 2018.
