Apprenticeship is an “earn and learn” employer-based training model. Apprenticeships combine classroom-based instruction with on-the-job training (OJT) under a mentor at the employer’s worksite. Apprentices are employed during their training and earn progressively higher wages. Traditionally used as a training model for construction-related occupations, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) aims to expand apprenticeships to a range of nontraditional occupations and to increase opportunities for all Americans through its grant programs. DOL’s Chief Evaluation Office in partnership with the Employment and Training Administration in 2019 commissioned the Urban Institute, Mathematica, and Capital Research Corporation to conduct a study that would estimate the impact of two federally funded apprenticeship grant programs on apprentices’ employment and earnings: Scaling Apprenticeship through Sector-Based Strategies, and Apprenticeships: Closing the Skills Gap. Between these two grant programs, DOL awarded almost $284 million to 51 grantees between 2019 and 2020.

The overarching finding is that registered and unregistered apprenticeships had large and significant impacts on employment and earnings in the ninth quarter post enrollment. This was true for apprentices when compared to both community college students and Wagner-Peyser participants. The study also found large and significant impacts on employment and earnings by occupational sector and apprentice subgroup. These findings contribute to the growing evidence base on the value of employer-based training programs and confirm the effectiveness of apprenticeship—particularly outside of traditional construction occupations—as a viable pathway to higher-quality jobs.

A companion report on the implementation of the grant programs is also available: The Implementation of Registered and Unregistered Apprenticeship: Evidence from the Scaling Apprenticeship and Closing the Skills Gap Grants | U.S. Department of Labor