The Urban Institute’s apprenticeship team offers resources that help schools, employers, and industry representatives create, implement, and oversee registered apprenticeship programs for young people. We also offer a robust set of tools for making apprenticeships sustainable over time.
Designing Apprenticeships
Delivering a youth apprenticeship program begins with understanding Registered Apprenticeship, its design elements, and the roles and responsibilities of each participating partner. The apprenticeship lead—either the sponsor or an intermediary supporting program design—can then design a program specific to all the partners’ needs. These resources help guide program sponsors, leaders, and administrators through the process.
- A Roadmap to Build, Manage, and Sustain a Registered Apprenticeship Program for Young People walks through each phase of implementing a youth apprenticeship. The design section details the steps required to create and register an apprenticeship program.
- Youth Apprenticeship Playbook: How to Build Successful High School-Sponsored Programs is for high school administrators interested in becoming a youth apprenticeship sponsor. It explains how to design and register a program and gives examples of successful high-school based programs.
Managing Apprenticeships
Implementing a youth apprenticeship program requires managing numerous program elements. These resources help apprenticeship leaders and sponsors to fund programs (see the “Federal Resources Playbook for Registered Apprenticeship”), find apprentices, do outreach, create plans for apprentice onboarding and success, prepare mentors, and enact the Equal Employment Opportunity requirements.
Outreach and onboarding. “Where Could Apprenticeship Take You?” is an online game designed to expose young people to youth apprenticeship. Apprenticeship program leaders, schools, and other organizations that work with high school students can use it to introduce students to apprenticeships and post-high school career paths. The game also helps familiarize young people with concepts like learning on the job, working with a team, and interacting with a mentor.
For students, we created a two-page fact sheet about the benefits of apprenticeship to convey the value of apprenticeship and help them decide whether to join a youth apprenticeship program.
For apprenticeship sponsors and employers, our toolkit titled “Onboarding Youth Apprentices: A Framework for Registered Apprenticeship Programs” provides step-by-step instructions on how to effectively integrate apprentices into the workplace, from preparing the organization before launching a program to welcoming apprentices and setting them up for success.
Mentoring. Mentors contribute to the learning, inclusion, and retention of apprentices. View our robust suite of tools to support mentorship in your program.
Growing Apprenticeships
Growing a youth apprenticeship program might mean continuing or sustaining a program in its current form, expanding the program by offering different occupations in line with an organization’s shifting skills needs, or updating the curriculum. Apprenticeship stakeholders can also expand the system by helping launch or deliver new youth apprenticeship programs. The following resources help programs leaders, sponsors, and administrators navigate these choices.
Sustaining programs. Creating a sustainable and resilient apprenticeship program requires a long-term vision of success, intentional planning, self-assessment, and an understanding of what it takes to achieve sustainability. View our suite of tools and resources to jumpstart your sustainability planning efforts.
Expanding the system. These fact sheets provide different actors with lessons and considerations for expanding youth apprenticeship based on their role or organization type:
- How Registration Agencies Can Promote Youth Apprenticeship
- How Intermediaries Can Promote Youth Apprenticeship
- How—and Why—Employers Can Expand Youth Apprenticeship Programs
- What High School Educators Can do to Promote Youth Apprenticeship
- How Organizations Can Better Serve Young People in Apprenticeships
- How Labor Unions and Industry Associations Can Accelerate Youth Apprenticeship
