Expanding registered apprenticeship in the United States: description of American Apprenticeship Initiative grantees and their programs

The US Department of Labor (DOL) launched the American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI) in October 2015 to expand registered apprenticeship in the United States into sectors with few apprenticeships, such as healthcare and information technology (IT), and for populations underrepresented in apprenticeship. In 2016, DOL commissioned an evaluation of the AAI grants to build evidence about the effectiveness of registered apprenticeship for apprentices and employers. The evaluation will also generate lessons for developing and operating these programs, particularly in occupations that do not traditionally use apprenticeship for training.

This is the first of three reports presenting findings from the implementation study. It answers the following research questions: (1) How are AAI apprenticeship programs structured? How are programs designed? Which entities - that is, grantees, employers, other partners, or a combination - are involved in program design? What is the nature and content of related technical instruction (RTI) and on-the-job learning (OJL)? What supports are available to apprentices? (2) Who is responsible for registration? Where are programs registered? (3) How do grantees identify employers for apprenticeships? (4) What strategies do grantees and employers use to identify strong candidates for apprenticeships? (5) How are pre-apprenticeship programs structured? The data presented in this report depict the status of grantee activities about four years into the five-year grants when grantees likely implemented most planned activities and grantee activities were operating at a steady state. The report documents the design and operation of the grantee apprenticeship programs and identifies potentially promising practices and challenges that can inform policy and program design.

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