Strengthening America’s Workforce: The Path to 4 Million Apprenticeships

May 2, 2023
Taylor Maag

Apprenticeships have long been ingrained in America’s history, but today, America falls drastically behind other advanced nations despite the benefits the program brings to workers and employers alike. Apprenticeships — a training model that allows people to work and earn while they are learning the critical skills needed for the industry — are especially important today when most U.S. jobs require at least some postsecondary education and training, and there is a serious shortage of skilled workers in many fields.

Today, the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) released a new policy brief titled, “Strengthening America’s Workforce: The Path to 4 Million Apprenticeships,” detailing how the United States needs to scale up apprenticeships to ensure more workers and businesses benefit from these opportunities. Report author Taylor Maag, PPI’s Director of The New Skills for a New Economy Project, recommends mobilizing intermediaries and boosting federal investment to create one million new apprenticeships per year — a roughly 10-fold increase — and requiring funding ties to performance.

“U.S. employers should follow other countries’ lead to create a significant number of apprenticeships to remain competitive in recruitment, workforce quality, and productivity. Apprenticeships are worthwhile for both workers and employers — increasing earnings, widening access to rewarding careers, increasing job satisfaction, ensuring a skilled workforce, and expanding the middle class,” said Taylor Maag. “Growing apprenticeship opportunities is the kind of tangible policies American workers deserve and should expect from their government.”

By the numbers:

There are currently 593,000 apprentices in the U.S. — only .03% of our labor force — compared to countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany that have roughly 10 times more.
Workers who participate in apprenticeships earn an average salary of $77,000, compared to an average salary of $55,000 for workers who do not. Those who complete an apprenticeship also earn an average of $300,000 more than those who don’t over the course of their career.
For every dollar spent on apprenticeship programs, employers get $1.47 back in increased productivity.

Download the policy brief here:

The Progressive Policy Institute (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. Learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org. Find an expert at PPI and follow us on twitter.

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Media Contact: Amelia Fox; afox@ppionline.org