But more are needed; apprentices in the U. S. remain ‘massively under-scaled’: review
Entering 2025, community colleges are expanding apprentices and another experienced-based learning initiatives to tackle America’s labor shortage problems and join a growing need for other forms of higher learning.
“Community schools are going beyond their traditional role of education, helping to organize, file, and assist businesses in running their internship programs, ” John Colborn, executive producer of Apprenticeships for America, told The College Fix.
“By expanding these services, they reduce barriers for employers to offer apprenticeships, ” he said in a phone interview earlier this month.
A recent report by Colborn’s business shows the number of neighborhood institutions with lively apprentices has grown from only 30 to over 200 between 2016 and 2023.
But, internships in the U. S. remain “massively under-scaled, ” according to the report.
“Growing apprentices to levels seen in other places will require considerable effort and expense. However, community colleges seem well-positioned [to] act as an accelerator, ” the report, co-authored by Colborn, states.
Colborn said he has worked with many companies facing problems in filling career opportunities. His business aims to increase the number of available internship options and raise awareness.
“Employers are increasingly looking for someone with experience, even for entry-level positions, ” he said.
Yet, he told The Fix this creates a “pain level. ” It is difficult for employees to gain knowledge without first obtaining an entry-level career.
Colborn said his organization believes internships are “a good solution ” to this dilema. Apprentices get on-the-job education under the guidance of experienced companies while also earning a wage.
“It allows companies to bring in someone without experience and train them to get productive staff, all while they get real-world exposure to office requires, ” Colborn said.
According to his organization’s November statement, internships provide “a method for community colleges to handle the suspicion of individuals that has driven membership declines in recent years. ”
What’s more, apprenticeships are “demonstrably connected to an employment outcome ” and do not “entail incurring student debt. ”
“Finally, apprenticeship uniquely answers those questioning the value of higher education institutions and their outcomes, ” the report states.
To better support such opportunities, “traditional community college tuition and financing methods can be made to better support apprenticeships ” through “Pell and GI Bill tuition assistance, ” according to the report.
MORE: Industry apprenticeships prepare students where colleges fail: report
The most significant labor shortages are evident in skilled trades such as construction and manufacturing, as well as the healthcare industry.
An Associated Builders and Contractors Association news release states that nearly half a million additional workers are needed to meet the industry demands in 2025.
Another study by the Manufacturing Institute in 2021 found an estimated 4 million manufacturing jobs will need to be filled by 2030.
Many community colleges work directly with employers to meet the shortage, but some employers also are starting their own in-house training programs.
Janet Tomcavage, executive vice president and chief nursing executive of Geisinger Health System, told The Fix in a recent interview about the success of its in-house nursing scholars program since it began in 2021.
One of the largest medical providers in Pennsylvania, Geisinger recently expanded the program to “to include pathways for LPNs, surgical technologists and certified medical assistants, ” as well as registered nurses, Tomcavage said.
Through the program, employees receive financial support, educational resources, and flexible schedules to facilitate both learning and job training while attending nursing school. Upon completion, participants commit to working at Geisinger for two to three years.
Data from the Bureau of Health Workforce projects a shortage of more than 200,000 registered nurses and 300,000 licensed practical nurses over the next 12 years, with the greatest need being in rural areas.
By supporting the training of its own employees, Geisinger wants to ensure access to reliable workers. Tomcavage said the most valuable resource for the health care system is its people.
“We believe it helps us with retention of this precious resource, ” she told The Fix. “They are who Geisinger is and what makes it what it is, and this is our way of investing in our people by offering them professional development opportunities. ”
Some universities also have recognized the need to alter traditional secondary education by incorporating more experience-based learning to address the shortage of skilled trade workers.
For example, Clemson University’s bachelor’s degree in construction science and management has a 100-percent employment rate post-graduation, The Fix reported previously. This trade-specific degree includes hands-on training and 800 hours of required internship experience within the industry.
At the government level, some states also are eliminating degree requirements for government jobs, including Indiana, Maryland, and Utah.
MORE: Gov’t should give more money to fill trade jobs, groups say
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