New National Organization to Focus on Expanding Apprenticeships Across the U.S. Economy
Former DOL officials, state policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders come together to establish Apprenticeships for America to scale proven models of work-based learning and accelerate economic opportunity’
New National Organization to Focus on Expanding Apprenticeships Across the U.S. Economy
Former DOL officials, state policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders come together to establish Apprenticeships for America to scale proven models of work-based learning and accelerate economic opportunity
Washington, DC – MARCH 17, 2022 – Apprenticeships for America (AFA), a nonprofit focused on expanding apprenticeship programs nationwide, launched today amid urgent demand for new education and training approaches that better connect America’s workers to in-demand jobs and rewarding careers in an increasingly dynamic economy.
“Despite decades of evidence that apprenticeships are among the most effective paths to economic mobility, they are both poorly understood and inadequately funded at all levels of the U.S. government,” said Robert I. Lerman, Institute Fellow at the Urban Institute and Chairman of the Board at the new organization. “Today we have a record number of unfilled jobs, including 2 million in professional and business services. Given the track record of apprenticeships, we must explore how to apply the model across many sectors of the U.S. economy. Our goal is to make registered apprenticeship a mainstream, widely available component of how the U.S. prepares young people f or quality jobs and sustainable careers.”
Apprenticeships for America was founded to respond to the challenges facing a strained and overburdened U.S. labor market. The record 11 million unfilled jobs reflects a growing skills mismatch, despite rising college attendance and graduation rates over the last decade. The U.S. education and training system is not up to the task of ensuring that all workers gain the skills employers are seeking. Too many students fall short in pursuing degrees yet end up with excessive student debt. The “academic only” emphasis of schooling often fails those who learn best by doing. Employers become frustrated with the dearth of candidates with the relevant occupational and employability skills, yet too few employers provide the work-based learning vital to achieving a skilled workforce.
The apprenticeship model, in which mostly early-career workers receive training alongside the benefits of full-time employees, is recognized worldwide as the most cost-effective approach to equipping individuals, especially young people, with the technical skills and training required to transition successfully into long-term skilled careers. Yet, in comparison with major industrial economies, registered apprenticeship programs are underutilized by U.S. employers: despite increases over the past generation, U.S. apprenticeships are only one-eighth the level of peer countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
“For decades, policymakers have sought to expand apprenticeships into newer and expanding growth industries,” said Ann Marie Stieritz, the founding director of Apprenticeship Carolina who will serve as a board member for Apprenticeships for America. “In South Carolina, we’ve seen the accelerating impact of intermediary organizations on the ability to expand the ‘learn-to-earn’ apprenticeship model across diverse sectors of our economy. Apprenticeships for America will advocate for scaling registered apprenticeships in tech, healthcare, and other fast-growing sectors by focusing on the role of these intermediary entities and networking with them for broader impact.”
Apprenticeships for America aims to help the United States bring registered apprenticeships to the scale experienced by other advanced economies, such as Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. AFA’s multi-pronged strategy for building a robust, sustainable apprenticeship system will include research, advocacy, and grassroots mobilization. AFA will establish the American Apprenticeship Network to enhance collaboration among intermediaries, employers, service providers, schools, and other apprenticeship sponsors, labor representatives, and researchers. The organization will initially focus on strengthening the role of intermediaries such as unions, business services companies, industry associations, staffing companies, nonprofits, and government agencies, which – as demonstrated in other countries – have the potential to organize and sell apprenticeship programs to employers.
“Apprenticeships provide a clear pathway to good jobs. As policymakers and employers alike double down on getting Americans not only back to work, but also into family-sustaining careers, apprenticeships need to be part of the solution,” said Sean Cartwright, the founding executive director of AFA who also served as chief of staff for the Employment and Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor in the Obama administration. “We’re seeing incredible innovation and demand across our sector right now. We aim to collaborate with intermediaries, researchers, and funders alike to accelerate the momentum for apprenticeships and ultimately ensure that Americans have access to the best pathways to meet their career aspirations.”
For more information, visit www.apprenticeshipsforamerica.org.
About Apprenticeships for America
Apprenticeships for America (AFA) is a new nonprofit aimed at helping the United States bring registered apprenticeships to the scale experienced by other advanced economies, such as Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. AFA’s multi-pronged strategy for building a robust, sustainable apprenticeship system includes research, advocacy and grassroots mobilization and creating the American Apprenticeship Network (AAN) to enhance collaboration among apprenticeship intermediaries, service providers, schools, employers, and other apprenticeship sponsors, labor representatives, and researchers. AFA will play a leading role in unleashing the potential of registered apprenticeships to significantly widen access to rewarding careers and benefit millions of American workers.
A team of highly experienced apprenticeship experts is responsible for overseeing and directing the ongoing activities of AFA and proper governance of the 501(c)(3). The chairman of the Board is Dr. Robert I. Lerman, Institute Fellow at the Urban Institute and noted researcher on apprenticeship. Also serving on the governing board will be Maryland State Senator Jim Rosapepe, Ryan Craig, Derrick Ramsey, and Ann Marie Stieritz. All board members have worked with state leaders, postsecondary institutions, and employers and have consulted with key policymakers and worked to learn lessons on the ground about the operational requirements for a robust U.S. apprenticeship system.
Robert Lerman
Dr. Robert I. Lerman is an Institute Fellow in the Center on Labor, Human Services and Population at the Urban Institute and the leading U.S. researcher on apprenticeship. He is a member of the board of the International Network on Innovative Apprenticeship (INAP), head of the Urban Institute’s apprenticeship group, and established the American Institute for Innovative Apprenticeship. Dr. Lerman has published widely on apprenticeship and currently heads the evaluation of the American Apprenticeship Initiative. He is also a professor emeritus of economics at American University and a research fellow at IZA in Bonn, Germany.
Jim Rosapepe
Maryland State Senator Jim Rosapepe is a leading champion of apprenticeship in his state and nationally. He has sponsored laws to expand youth apprenticeships, set targets for occupational skill development in Maryland high schools, open community college scholarships to apprenticeship related instruction, and fund local workforce agencies to scale up apprenticeships. A former Regent of the University System of Maryland and U.S. Ambassador to Romania, he is Vice Chair of the Senate Budget and Tax Committee and a member of the Prince George’s County Workforce Board.
Derrick Ramsey
Derrick Ramsey is a respected leader and former senior policymaker. He served in Kentucky first as Deputy Secretary of Commerce, next as Secretary of the Kentucky Labor Cabinet, and in 2018 as Secretary of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. Expanding apprenticeship is a major passion and initiative of Secretary Ramsey. His efforts in Kentucky led to large numbers of added apprentices, especially in non-construction fields and including in public service positions. Mr. Ramsey formerly held positions as Athletic Director at two HBCUs, where he successfully fostered high levels of academic success of college athletes. As an All-American at the University of Kentucky and having played nine years in the NFL, he set a fine example of how to combine athletic success with academic achievement. Mr. Ramsey is currently a non-resident fellow at the Urban Institute.
Ann Marie Stieritz
Ann Marie Stieritz served as the Founding Director of Apprenticeship Carolina™, which catalyzed South Carolina’s jump to the leading state in the country in expanding registered apprenticeship programs and youth apprenticeship. Through innovative design and employer-based outreach, Apprenticeship Carolina™ has helped position apprenticeship as a 21st century workforce solution across traditional and emerging employment sectors. It has informed apprenticeship expansion in states beyond South Carolina as well as federal policy. Ms. Stieritz led the establishment of South Carolina’s 12 Regional Education Centers (created by the SC Education and Economic Development Act) that convene stakeholders to align regional career pathways initiatives across organizations and sectors. She currently serves as President and CEO of Liberty Fellowship, the only state-focused leadership initiative within the Aspen Institute’s Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN), a worldwide community of high-integrity entrepreneurial leaders from more than 50 countries.
Ryan Craig
Ryan Craig is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Achieve Partners, which is devoted to improving job market outcomes for American workers through innovations in skill development. Achieve Partners recently announced a $180 million fund to invest in businesses to boost career opportunities through apprenticeships in information technology and health care. Mr. Craig is a thought leader with publications in Forbes, Inside Higher Education, TechCrunch, and many others. He is the author of the book A New U: Faster + Cheaper Alternatives to College (Ben Bella, 2018), named in The Wall Street Journal as one the Books of the Year for 2018. He is also the author of College Disrupted: The Great Unbundling of Higher Education (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), which profiles the coming shift toward competency-based education and hiring.
