Dive Brief:
- The American Council on Education examines apprenticeships as a tool to close the skills gap in its first of eight “Quick Hits” reports.
- Apprenticeships could provide training for future workers who don’t necessarily need a degree, preparing job-ready individuals to fill waiting positions needing skilled labor, eCampus News reports.
- Community colleges host substantially more apprenticeship opportunities than four-year institutions, but already the United States is well behind the UK in preparing its skilled workforce through apprenticeships, according to the article.
Dive Insight:
Analysts forecast a shortage in skilled labor over the next 10 years. Many of these projected positions will not require a four-year degree, but employers are looking to hire people with some basic applicable skills. Apprenticeship programs, offered for credit through colleges, provide one avenue to train or re-train workers in a fairly compact timeframe and ready them for competitive employment. The cost of higher education puts significant pressure on cash-strapped students, but direct pipelines from training to hire could convince these students to take out modest loans to jump into well-paying careers.