Despite critiques of President Trump’s apprenticeship task force, programs that blend work and school are thriving in cities where opportunities seem stagnant for youth in poorer communities.
One prominent example, The Chicago Apprentice Network, draws together companies such as Aon, Zurich, Accenture, Walgreens, and others to provide apprenticeships to local youth. Joined recently by J.P. Morgan, these companies provide structured, on-the-job learning for recent high school graduates plus free tuition toward an associate’s degree.
A venture that began with two employers and 50 apprenticeships in 2017 now spans 15 companies and offers more than 350 positions. Those championing this model promise that it will expand soon to both New York and Ohio.
Aon Vice President Bridget Gainer wrote that “this talent strategy is good for us, and it’s good for Chicago … we’re now hiring from every neighborhood in the city, and 80 percent of our apprentices are African-American or Latino.”
Both researchers and politicians are championing apprenticeships as valuable, hands-on educational experiences. They are becoming increasingly important as college costs skyrocket and more students view a traditional four-year degree as a poor economic investment.
Apprenticeships have attracted bipartisan support and boast high employment rates after the conclusion of the program. They help students fearful of debt, those interested in a particular field, and those who want a clear path to a job circumvent the expensive general four-year bachelor’s degree.
Additionally, apprenticeship programs confer benefits to all involved parties. They provide jobs and tuition benefits at community colleges for youths while helping to increase diversity in hiring and the proportion of skilled workers for corporations. These programs promote collaboration between institutions of higher education and corporations to expand and enrich the labor force.
As Gainer writes, apprenticeships “constitute a long-term business strategy … we are proud that Chicago is setting the stage for what we hope will become a nationwide approach.”
