Assessment of National Industry Intermediaries' and National Equity Partners' Efforts to Expand Apprenticeship Opportunities

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Assessment of National Industry Intermediaries' and National Equity Partners' Efforts to Expand Apprenticeship Opportunities

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Issue
2021-25

Publication Info

In September 2016, to expand apprenticeship opportunities across the United States, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) awarded $20.4 million over four years in competitive one-year, renewable contracts to 10 national industry intermediaries and 4 national equity partners. The main purpose of these contracts was to complement ETA's work in expanding the availability of and access to registered apprenticeships. The industry intermediaries contributed to that goal by developing new occupational frameworks and apprenticeship programs in targeted industry sectors. The equity partners supported apprenticeship programs in their efforts to become more diverse and inclusive, and increase the participation of underrepresented populations, including women, people of color, and people with disabilities. Based primarily on interviews with these organizations, this paper assesses the strategies the industry intermediaries and equity partners implemented, the challenges they have experienced, and their successes in meeting these challenges. The major findings of this report include:
  • Most industry intermediaries exceeded targets for the number of apprentices and new apprenticeship programs developed. The industry intermediary contracts provided funding for organizations to expand the scale of apprenticeship programs by further developing sectors outside of construction (IT and Health Care) and increasing the number of pre-apprenticeships in construction. The industry intermediaries operated in multiple states and developed national standards and programs that any employers could adopt.
  • Equity partners used several approaches to make registered apprenticeships more inclusive. The equity partner contracts offered new ways to widen apprenticeship opportunities for underrepresented populations, specifically women, people of color, and people with disabilities.