AAI: Expanding Apprenticeship to New Sectors and Populations

This AAI outcomes study, a Level 2 resource, addresses the following research questions:

1. What are the characteristics of AAI apprentices, and why did they enroll in an apprenticeship program?
2. What were the experiences of AAI apprentices during the apprenticeship program?
3. What were the completion rates and post-program labor market outcomes of AAI apprentices?
4. How did the experiences and outcomes of AAI apprentices differ between subgroups?
5. What were the characteristics, program experiences, and post-program outcomes of AAI pre-apprentices?

The study focuses on apprentices who registered and pre-apprentices who enrolled in their programs between October 1, 2015, and December 31, 2018, so that apprentices had been in their programs long enough to provide a meaningful assessment of their experiences (at least 15 months) and had at least five quarters of post-program earnings data available for analysis. The analysis used the following data sources:

• An AAI Apprentice Survey administered to a subset of AAI apprentices between March and October 2020, on average about 2.7 years after starting their programs. The survey collected information about apprentices’ backgrounds, program experiences, and post-program outcomes.
• Apprenticeship Quarterly Performance Report program data that AAI grantees collected and submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL). These data describe the pre-program characteristics and in-program occupations of AAI apprentices and pre-apprentices.
• Quarterly earnings from the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH), a database of Unemployment Insurance payments and quarterly earnings data maintained by the Office of Child Support Enforcement within the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NDNH data are available for both apprentices and pre-apprentices through December 2020.
• Data from USDOL’s Registered Apprenticeship Partners Information Data System through 2020, which contains data on registered apprentices in 25 states with federally administered State Agencies.

(This report is 152 pages long.)

(This study took place between 2019–2021.)

The researchers identified the following selected findings:

AAI Apprentice Characteristics and Factors Considered When Enrolling:

• Most AAI apprentices were from an underrepresented population.
• One-third of AAI apprentices had a postsecondary credential prior to starting their apprenticeships.
• Most AAI apprentices were working at the time they enrolled in their apprenticeship.
• AI apprentices rated “train for a career” and “gain skills and credentials valued by employers” as the two most important factors in their decision to enroll in an apprenticeship program.

Apprentice In-program Experiences:

• Most AAI apprentices enrolled in nontraditional occupations, most commonly manufacturing.
• Most AAI apprentices reported that their program “prepared them well” for aspects of their occupation.

Apprentice Post-program Experiences:

• Most AAI apprentices had completed their programs or were still enrolled at the time of the AAI Apprentice Survey.
• About two-thirds of AAI apprentices who completed their apprenticeship continued to work at the same employer that sponsored their apprenticeship program.
• AAI apprentices experienced substantial earnings growth between the year before starting the apprenticeship and the year after program exit, but the magnitude of the increase varied by subgroup.
• Earnings grew much more for new workers than incumbent workers.
• There was little difference in earnings growth by veteran AAI apprentices.
• Earnings growth was highest for AAI apprentices in computer/IT and healthcare occupations and lowest for apprentices in construction and manufacturing.

Pre-apprentice Characteristics and Program Outcomes:

• Relative to AAI apprentices, a larger share of AAI pre-apprentices was from underrepresented populations.
• Most AAI pre-apprentices completed their programs and experienced earnings growth.

The researchers proposed the following suggestions to address differential earnings growth across subgroups:

• Explore strategies to promote entry into higher-paying occupations for underrepresented populations.
• Explore approaches to encourage employers to hire new workers in apprenticeship programs.
• Additional supportive services might help apprentices to persist and complete their programs.
• Strengthen collaboration with pre-apprenticeship programs.

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2022
• Author(s): Walton, D.; Gardiner, K.; Barnow, B.
• Funding Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: India Johnson
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies