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The brief is part of the the American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI) evaluation, and is based on site visits and follow up clarification calls to 6 AAI grantees that constituted 7 State or local workforce development boards. The evaluation team talked primarily with staff in management and leadership positions, although some agencies invited direct-service staff, such as career counselors and business services staff, to join the conversation.

Key Takeaways

• Challenges:
  • American Job Center (AJC) business services staff do not have the deep understanding of registered apprenticeship necessary to “sell” employers on this workforce development strategy.
  • AJC staff who work with job seekers lack a comprehensive understanding of registered apprenticeship.
  • Because local workforce development boards (WDBs) have limited Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I funding for training services, apprenticeships compete for funds with other, often shorter and less expensive trainings.
  • Grantees reported that funding registered apprenticeship is complicated by the multi-year nature of its training and the paperwork required from employers.
  • Grantees reported that their AJCs generally prioritize unemployed and recently dislocated workers, whereas the majority of AAI apprentices were incumbent workers, suggesting many employers prefer to use apprenticeship to train incumbent workers.
• Potential strategies to address challenges:
  • Provide training opportunities for AJC business services staff and career counselors on the fundamentals of registered apprenticeship.
  • Promote the positive returns of apprenticeship to prospective employers and apprentices.
  • Promote how registered apprenticeship can contribute towards AJCs’ achievement of WIOA performance accountability measures.

Citation

Gardiner, K., Paulen, L., Copson, E., Katz, B. (2022). Abt Associates. Challenges and Opportunities for Expanding Registered Apprenticeship with Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I: Findings from the American Apprenticeship Initiative Evaluation. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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This study was sponsored by the Employment and Training Administration, Office of Policy Development and Research, Division of Research and Evaluation, and was produced outside of CEO’s standard research development process.