Community colleges have “significant untapped potential” to help workers obtain in-demand skills — but they need buy-in from employers, according to a nonprofit apprenticeship organization.
More than 500 community and technical colleges are registered as apprenticeship sponsors, but less than half had active apprentices last year, according to Apprenticeships for America’s Sept. 25 report.
The full potential of apprenticeships can only be realized if employers and colleges come together in meaningful ways, the organization said. This involves breaking down old assumptions about apprenticeships being solely for the trades and showing that they can be valuable for technology, healthcare, finance and other sectors.
Other hurdles also remain, however: Public policy barriers discourage the kind of collaboration required for apprenticeships to succeed at scale, according to the report: “Funding, governance and accountability metrics can all work to advance apprenticeship — or diminish it.”
The group called for additional funding, a simplified registration process and skill standards.
The Biden administration this summer announced plans to expand the registered apprenticeship program in industries such as clean energy, advanced manufacturing, IT and cybersecurity, and K-12 education.
This followed a proposed regulation that would require an apprenticeship model focused on hours on the job and in the classroom, scrapping a competency-only option. Republicans, however, have said the rule increases employers’ administrative burdens and would therefore discourage small businesses from participating.
