Abstract
Since its inception in medieval Europe, apprenticeships have played a vital role in knowledge transfer from one generation to the next. In a mutually beneficial relationship, the master craftsman passes along years of skill and wisdom to the younger apprentice while gaining the youthful, energetic infusion of labor from the burgeoning new learner. In the 21st century, the concept remains largely unchanged, but after years of falling by the wayside, the United States is experiencing a renaissance in the apprenticeship movement. For generations, apprenticeships were marginalized in favor of a more traditional form of classroom-based education now termed Career and Technical Education. However, with economic changes activated by a national ‘skills gap’ and a retiring Baby Boomer generation, the country faces a potential crisis if a skilled workforce is not trained quickly. With just over 500,000 participants nationally, apprenticeship pales in comparison to the 17 million students currently enrolled in higher education. Some of the fastest growing sectors of the American economy such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), and healthcare, have only a few thousand apprentices each. The solution to this challenge lies with the alignment of both methodologies. This article explores the subject of integrating apprenticeship growth and the higher education sector.
Highlights
Choosing a higher education pathway is an extremely complex labyrinth that forces the average18-year-old in the United States to make life-altering decisions with very little exposure to the field of study
This article explores the subject of integrating apprenticeship growth and the higher education sector
Compared to other sectors of higher education where 2 million new students enroll in community college every year, apprenticeship in the United States has not grown proportionally to other educational pathways
Summary
Choosing a higher education pathway is an extremely complex labyrinth that forces the average18-year-old in the United States to make life-altering decisions with very little exposure to the field of study. Student have to make major decisions as what institution they will attend, what degree they will seek and how they will finance these choices. The vast majority of students in contemporary high schools focus on the need to pursue higher education, rather than the labor market when they formulate their postsecondary plans. Students are often more concerned with the where than the what when choosing a college [1]. The prevailing mindset is that the only way to succeed economically in the United States is to pursue a Bachelor’s degree [2]. The subsequent demand created an economic boom for the higher education sector, leading to a 500% increase in the number of post-secondary programs between 1985 and 2010, and college tuitions to rise 19 times faster than incomes.
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