Over the last 10 years, apprenticeships have gained increasing popularity in the United States. Active registered apprentices have grown from 410,000 to 667,000 since 2011, with new sign-ups increasing by roughly eight percent yearly. Growing bipartisan support has increased federal funding for apprenticeships from $30 million to $285 million annually over the last three presidencies. Apprenticeships for America, a national advocacy organization, recently studied this growth to determine how apprenticeships are evolving in the U.S. and what strategies are proving successful in improving apprenticeship numbers.
The resulting report first determines which apprenticeship statistics are improving in the United States. The number of new apprenticeships per year in the U.S. has nearly doubled since 2014, increasing from 149,927 to 286,578 in 2023. Active apprentices as a percentage of the labor force have grown for each state during the same time frame, with Hawaii topping the list at 0.92 percent in 2024. Occupation diversity has also improved: While construction has always dominated apprenticeships (for example, 86 percent of Delaware’s new apprentices in 2023 were in that field), many states in 2023 had “a majority of new apprentices starting in occupations outside of construction,” such as IT and healthcare.
Although the average age of new apprentices is 29, governments are helping to lower that number. Lastly, the average age of new U.S. apprentices is dropping. Although that average is 29 years old at present, government programs such as Youth Apprenticeship Readiness Grants are helping to lower this number. Nationally, 41 percent of new apprentices starting in 2023 were under 25. These results indicate that apprenticeships are growing qualitatively as well as quantitatively.
In some cases, the Tar Heel state has found itself on the tail end of national apprenticeship rankings. How does North Carolina fare in apprenticeship growth? The results are mixed. In some cases, the Tar Heel state has found itself on the tail end of national apprenticeship rankings. For example, the number of N.C. apprenticeships grew by less than 200 percent over the last 10 years, placing N.C. fourteenth to last out of the 50 states plus Washington, D.C., and Guam. New York, by contrast, experienced 1,400-percent growth, putting it in first place. N.C. also ranked fifth to last for active apprentices as a percentage of the labor force, experiencing little growth from 0.15 percent in 2014 to roughly 0.3 percent in 2023. Yet, despite these numbers, N.C. has also seen significant positive apprenticeship growth in certain areas. With just over 60 percent of its new apprentices choosing fields outside of construction, N.C. ranks fourth among states in this category in 2024. Further, roughly 40 percent of new apprentices in 2023 were under 25, placing N.C. in the middle of that category’s pack. Some of North Carolina’s actions, such as establishing a state apprenticeship agency, have already been helpful in facilitating apprenticeship growth.
So what steps might a state take to improve its apprenticeship numbers? The authors of the Apprenticeships for America report conclude that states with the highest apprenticeship growth rates have set up “governance and administrative approaches” that ease processes for the “different actors in the apprenticeship system.” They identify four types of activities that successful states employ to increase apprenticeship rates.
The first category, administration, involves establishing (or changing) “institutional and regulatory framework[s] for apprenticeships.” Many states, among them North Carolina, have established state apprenticeship agencies, which stand in for the federal Office of Apprenticeship by registering, overseeing, and promoting apprenticeship programs within their borders. By “building partnerships [between the local workforce and education systems], streamlining processes, and setting targets,” these agencies have increased their states’ apprenticeships at a faster rate.
Promotion and funding, another category, involves providing monetary incentives for employers to hire apprentices through tax credits, grant funding, and sector-specific funding.
A third category is the integration of apprenticeships with “other areas of state influence,” such as education. California’s already expanding Reach University, for example, allows apprentices to work for a salary while earning a degree, graduating free of student-loan debt. (ApprenticeshipNC does similar work.)
A final category consists of targeting specific industries in which to expand apprenticeships. As previously mentioned, many states are concentrating on growing apprenticeships in areas outside of construction, such as in industry, nursing, and teaching. Apprenticeship intermediaries—organizations that connect employers with schools and other partners—play a significant role in expanding apprenticeships to these professions.
When states have successfully implemented these strategies, apprenticeships have significantly grown. The authors believe that, if states employ the right strategies, the U.S. could see two million new apprentices annually, creating countless opportunities for students and employers alike.
Sophia Damian is a student at Wake Forest University and a 2024 Martin Center intern.
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Sophia Damian
