Apprenticeships are gaining momentum as a way to close the opportunity gap, address racial and gender inequities such as occupational segregation, and improve access to quality jobs. But the policies governing apprenticeships in the U.S. are dated, and there are several structural challenges that limit their scale in industries other than the skilled trades. Moreover, the proliferation of different approaches, funding sources, and scopes threatens to undermine progress toward broader systems change. Failing to get the scale right will push greater costs for technological adoption, talent investment, and lifelong learning onto businesses, workers, and learners.

At Brookings, we have spent two years working with teams of state leaders from Alabama, Colorado, and Indiana to examine what it will take to scale earn-and-learn opportunities, including apprenticeships. Each of these states brought unique partnerships and innovations to the community of practice that other states can learn from, and we held local site visits to ground our conversations in the talent needs of the aerospace, biotechnology, and education industries.