The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled, “Apprenticeship: Earn-and-Learn Opportunities Can Benefit Workers and Employers” outlining the benefits of apprenticeship programs and how the federal government can make apprenticeship programs more successful for students and workers. The report found that participants in registered apprenticeship programs are likely to earn higher post-completion wages than students pursuing an associate’s degree, incur less debt than those students in technical education, and benefit from industry-connected skilled education.
The report also identified programs at five federal agencies (the Departments of Labor, Defense, Commerce, Education, and Veterans Affairs) that could support registered apprenticeship programs, including DOL’s Office of Apprenticeship and associated State Apprenticeship Agencies, YouthBuild, SkillBridge, WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs, and the Wagner-Peyser Employment Service. The report also found that stakeholders identified several barriers to the expansion of registered apprenticeship programs and other “earn-and-learn” opportunities, including awareness gaps of registered apprenticeship programs, societal pressure to pursue a college degree, and employer costs and administrative burdens.