AAI: Achieving Apprenticeship Program and Apprentice Registration Targets: Grantee Outcomes

The U.S. Department of Labor launched the AAI in October 2015 to expand registered apprenticeship in the United States. Funded by the H-1B visa program, AAI aimed to expand apprenticeship into high-growth sectors and skilled occupations with few apprenticeships, such as healthcare, information technology (IT), and advanced manufacturing, and to make registered apprenticeship accessible to populations historically underrepresented in apprenticeship, including women, racial and ethnic minorities, and veterans. DOL awarded $175 million in five-year grants to 46 grantees across the country.

This report addresses the following research questions:

1. Overall, did AAI grantees collectively meet their apprenticeship program registration and apprentice registration targets articulated in their grant applications?
2. How many pre-apprenticeship programs did grantees develop, and how many pre-apprentices did grantees enroll over the grant period?

The report used two data sources:

• The primary source is the Apprenticeship Quarterly Performance Report (Apprenticeship QPR) data provided by grantees to DOL. The earliest quarter for which data were available is the quarter ending September 30, 2017—approximately 23 months into the original five-year grant period. At the time of writing (November 2021), Apprenticeship QPR data were available through most of the extension period as follows: − Analysis uses Apprenticeship QPR summary data through the quarter ending June 30, 2021, to document the progress of grantees overall toward achieving their targets for program and apprentice registration as well as pre-apprentices served. − Analysis uses Apprenticeship QPR individual-level data through August 9, 2021, to describe registered apprentices’ and pre-apprentices’ demographic and background characteristics and the industries associated with the occupations into which they registered.
• The second data source for the report is a survey of all AAI grantees that inquired about a range of grant activities and is used in this report to examine progress toward targets by selected grantee characteristics.

(This report is 26 pages in length and was published in 2022.)

The researchers identified the following selected findings:

• AAI grantees collectively exceeded the apprenticeship program registration and apprentice registration targets articulated in their grant applications.
• Grantees collectively diversified apprenticeship occupations in healthcare, information technology, and advanced manufacturing in line with the goals of AAI.
• Grantees collectively registered apprentices from underrepresented populations, including women, young men and women of color, people with disabilities, and veterans; almost 70 percent of AAI registered apprentices were from underrepresented groups.
• Grantees collectively met targets for pre-apprentice enrollment; almost 90 percent of enrolled pre-apprentices were from underrepresented populations, an increase of about a third compared with enrolled apprentices.

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2022
• Author(s): Copson, E.; Fumia, D.; Griffith, T.
• Funding Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Justin Venneri
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies