Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) play a vital role in the US economy, yet many struggle to find, train, and retain skilled workers—particularly in technology occupations. From 2023 to 2026, the Urban Institute served as an apprenticeship intermediary in North Carolina and South Carolina, working with state apprenticeship agencies and SMB employers to design, launch, and sustain high-quality registered apprenticeship programs. This work, supported by Google.org, focused on helping SMBs overcome common barriers to apprenticeship adoption while building durable pathways into tech careers.
Why This Matters
SMBs employ nearly half of the US workforce and generate more than 40 percent of GDP, but they often lack the staffing, financial resources, and administrative capacity needed to sponsor registered apprenticeship programs on their own. As a result, larger employers are far more likely to participate in the registered apprenticeship system. Without targeted support, many SMBs miss out on the benefits of apprenticeships—including stronger talent pipelines, increased worker loyalty, and expanded access to skilled labor—while workers miss opportunities to enter good jobs. Intermediary organizations are well positioned to close this gap by reducing burden on employers, expanding state capacity, and connecting apprenticeships to education, funding, and support services.
What We Found
Urban Institute’s work in North Carolina and South Carolina shows that intermediaries can significantly accelerate and stabilize apprenticeship adoption among SMBs by taking on roles that employers and state agencies cannot easily fulfill alone. Through close partnership with ApprenticeshipNC and Apprenticeship Carolina, Urban helped launch 12 new registered apprenticeship programs with small and medium-sized businesses, and supported the placement of more than 275 apprentices into technology roles. The work demonstrated that intermediaries add the most value when they expand state staff capacity, serve as group sponsors to manage registration and compliance, and act as trusted connectors across employers, education providers, and workforce partners. Flexible funding and off-the-shelf resources—such as national occupational frameworks and industry-recognized certifications—were especially important for reducing costs and speeding program development. The project also showed that adaptability matters: flexible intermediary support helped employers and apprentices sustain programs throughout disruptions such as hurricane-related emergencies.
How We Did It
Urban combined hands-on technical assistance, partnership-building, and targeted financial supports to meet SMBs where they were. The team worked closely with state staff to establish trust, clarify roles through memoranda of understanding, and maintain regular communication during program development and registration. For employers, Urban simplified apprenticeship design by using Department of Labor–approved frameworks, identifying affordable related instruction options such as Google’s professional certificates, and braiding multiple funding sources to offset costs related to wages, training, and retention. This integrated, flexible approach enabled more SMBs to launch registered apprenticeship programs.
