WASHINGTON — As skepticism grows over the value of traditional four-year degrees, a new report from the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) highlights an innovative, upwardly mobile alternative: apprenticeship degrees that blend paid, work-based learning with college credit, helping Americans advance their careers without taking on crushing debt.
Titled “The Apprenticeship Degree: Promoting Upward Mobility and Addressing Labor Shortages,” the report by PPI’s Deanna Ross and Bruno Manno explores how this innovative model can expand career opportunities for working-class Americans while helping employers close persistent skills gaps.
The report is an output of PPI’s Campaign for Working America, launched last year in partnership with former U.S. Representative Tim Ryan (D-Ohio). The Campaign aims to develop and test new themes, ideas, and policy proposals that help Democrats and other center-left leaders make a compelling economic offer to working Americans, bridge divides on cultural issues like immigration and education, and rally public support for the defense of democracy and freedom globally.
“Apprenticeship degrees represent the kind of common-sense innovation we need to rebuild the American Dream for working families,” said Ryan. “They combine real-world work experience with a college degree, making higher education more affordable and more relevant. If we want to compete with China and restore economic dignity in the American Heartland, this is the kind of policy we ought to be championing.”
“Millions of young people and workers are being forced to choose between a job they need now and a degree that may — or may not — pay off later,” said Ross, PPI’s Director of Workforce Development Policy. “Apprenticeship degrees eliminate that false choice by integrating work and education into a single, debt-free path to upward mobility.”
The report reveals growing skepticism about the value of traditional college degrees and presents apprenticeship degrees as a promising, debt-free pathway to economic mobility. Key takeaways from the report include:
“Apprenticeship degrees are a bipartisan, practical solution to the intertwined problems of upward mobility, college affordability, and labor market readiness,” said Manno, Senior Advisor at PPI, who leads the What Works Lab. “With smart public investment and stronger employer partnerships, apprenticeship degrees can become a mainstream option across the country.”
Read and download the report here.
Founded in 1989, PPI is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Find an expert and learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org. Follow us @PPI.
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Media Contact: Ian O’Keefe – iokeefe@ppionline.org
