“Everyone wants to hire somebody with three years’ experience, and nobody wants to give them three years’ experience,” says Peter Capelli, management professor at The Wharton School. Many first-time job seekers confront this mismatch between work requirements and their ability to apply what they know to those demands. Analysts call this problem the job seeker’s experience gap.
K-12 schools, two- and four-year colleges, and workforce training programs can help young people overcome the experience gap through earn-and-learn apprenticeship programs. In addition to long-standing registered apprenticeships, new models are emerging, including youth apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and apprenticeship degrees. National Apprenticeship Day is an opportunity to investigate this growing movement.
