Why This Matters

Registered apprenticeship is at the center of Virginia governor-elect Abigail Spanberger’s plans to strengthen pathways from school to high-quality careers. To inform that work and changemakers in Virginia, this brief describes the state’s experience with registered apprenticeship from 2017 to 2024 and the success of registered apprenticeship in paying living wages.

What We Found

• The number of active apprentices in Virginia increased from approximately 6,000 apprentices in 2017 to almost 18,000 in 2024, with the rate of growth slowing after 2020.
• The share of new apprentices registered in nonconstruction programs grew in the most recent two years of available data (between 2023 and 2024), after declining steadily between 2019 and 2023. In 2024, 59 percent of new apprentices were outside of the construction sector.
• In 2017, about 15 percent of new Virginia apprentices earned inflation-adjusted starting hourly wages higher than the estimated living wage for the state of $25.65 (2025 dollars). The share of apprentices starting their apprenticeship at that living wage or higher declined between 2017 and 2019 but then gradually increased between 2019 and 2023, before declining again in 2024.
• Virginia registered apprentices in nonconstruction programs were more likely to earn at least a living wage of $25.65 (2025 dollars) than apprentices in construction programs. Apprentices in construction programs that did earn a living wage were more likely to be registered with union programs (51.6 percent) than apprentices in construction who did not earn a living wage (36.7 percent).

How We Did It

We analyzed data from the Registered Apprenticeship Partners Information Data System (RAPIDS), the case management system for registered apprenticeship in most states. The analysis compared apprentices in programs registered by the Virginia state apprenticeship agency, programs located in Virginia (but potentially registered by the federal government or another agency), and apprentices who reside in Virginia but who may be working out of state. We used the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Living Wage calculator to identify an appropriate living wage standard for apprentices in Virginia.