In 2020, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and funded contractor Urban Institute and its partners the Capital Research Corporation and Mathematica to conduct the Implementation Evaluation of the Youth Apprenticeship Readiness Grants (YARG) and the State Apprenticeship Capacity Assessment as part of the existing Apprenticeship Evidence-Building Portfolio.

The State Apprenticeship Capacity Assessment conducts a methodical review and assessment of the capacity of state systems and their partnerships to design and deliver Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) and services (including pre-apprenticeship services). This brief, the first in a series of briefs from the State Apprenticeship Systems Capacity Assessment study, provides an overview of federal support for state apprenticeship systems, and describes how state systems vary across several dimensions such as registration of programs, employer and apprentice recruitment, provision of financial incentives, and expansion of apprenticeship in rural areas.

Key findings may inform future policy decisions for federal support of state apprenticeship, including a focus on addressing employer engagement, increasing the quality of data on the diversity of apprentices, using apprenticeship to address the opioid crisis in rural areas through economic policies, and offsetting employer costs with financial incentives.