Skip to main content
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Engaging employers to register apprenticeship programs: Outcomes from the American Apprenticeship Initiative employer engagement demonstration (Trutko et al., 2022)

  • Findings

    See findings section of this profile.

    Evidence Rating

    Not Rated

  • Review Protocol

Review Guidelines

Implementation Guidelines

This study was conducted by staff from Abt Global, which co-administers CLEAR. The review of this study was conducted by ICF, which co-administers CLEAR and is trained in applying the CLEAR implementation study guidelines. 

Citation

Trutko, J., Copson, Marotta, J., Kuehn, D., Trutko, A., & Gardiner, K. (2022). Engaging employers to register apprenticeship programs: Outcomes from the American Apprenticeship Initiative employer engagement demonstration. Report prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Rockville, MD: Abt Associates.

Highlights

  • The study’s objective was to examine the implementation of teaching a consultative sales approach model to two American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI) grantees to help employers set up registered apprenticeship programs and hire apprentices.  
  • The study authors conducted an implementation evaluation using observations of technical assistance trainings, interviews with grantee staff, interviews with Institute for American Apprenticeship trainers, and administrative grantee demonstration data.  
  • The study found that MassHire implemented all five phases of the consultative sales approach model and assisted employers in becoming registered apprenticeships, while Philadelphia Works only carried out the first two phases of the model and did not help any employers achieve registered apprenticeship status.  
  • The exact dosage of technical assistance provided to each grantee was not fully recorded and the number of contacts made to employers was underreported due to limitations of the form used to record contacts. Additionally, the analytic and data quality assurance methods used were not described in detail. 
  • There was no companion impact study. 

Intervention Examined

American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI)

Features of the Intervention

  • Type of Organization: Workforce development board 
  • Location/Setting: Multi-site in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania  
  • Population Served and scale: Non-registered apprenticeship employers; 2,266 employers 
  • Industry Focus: Advanced manufacturing; Behavioral healthcare; Information technology 
  • Intervention activities: Training and Technical Assistance 
  • Organizational Partnerships: Employers and subgrantees 
  • Cost: Not included 
  • Fidelity: Not included 

The American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI), launched in October 2015 and funded by the H-1B visa program, was a demonstration project involving 46 grantees. Its goal was to help high-growth occupations establish registered apprenticeships and enhance access for underrepresented groups such as women, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and racial minorities. Under the AAI, employers were required to hire apprentices and commit to their skill development through mentorship and relevant classroom instruction. Between January 2019 and July 2020, two grantees received training and technical assistance from an instructor at the Institute for American Apprenticeships (IAA) on the consultative sales approach model. This model included five phases: (1) researching employers; (2) preparing to discuss apprenticeship registration; (3) engaging with employers about registering, (4) following up on next steps, and (5) securing a commitment that the employer has a plan to become a registered apprenticeship. 

Features of the Study

The implementation study gathered data from several sources, including observations of technical assistance training sessions, interviews with grantee staff, interviews with IAA trainers, and administrative grantee demonstration data. Interviews were conducted in person during the Spring and Summer of 2019, and virtually during the Fall of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the 46 AAI grantees, two were selected because they had a high number of apprentices who were not registered for an apprenticeship, could generate a list of unapproached employers for random assignment in the impact study, could collect data for the impact study, and were open to receiving technical assistance and sales training. The selected grantees were MassHire, a workforce development board in western Massachusetts focused on advanced manufacturing apprenticeships, and Philadelphia Works, a workforce development board in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which partnered with Communities in Schools/Urban Technology Project and JEVS Human Services. Philadelphia Works and its partners targeted employers in the information technology and behavioral health sectors.  

Findings

Intervention Activities/Services 

  • The study found that MassHire implemented the consultative sales approach as designed. MassHire continued to use the consultative sales approach after the study period and the AAI grant ended. 
  • However, Philadelphia Works only completed the first two phases of the consultative sales approach model and were unable to implement the remaining phases.  
  • MassHire researched 25 employers, contacted 24 of them, and found seven with the potential for apprenticeships. They successfully helped three of these seven become registered apprenticeship programs.  
  • Out of 2,216 employers researched by Philadelphia Works, only 4% were contacted, meetings were held with less than 1% of those contacted, and none became registered apprenticeships.  

Implementation Challenges and Solutions 

  • The study found that UTP, one of the partners of Philadelphia Works, ceased its involvement during the initial phase of the consultative sales approach. 
  • Philadelphia Works and its two partners experienced significant staff turnover, which hindered their ability to establish strong relationships with employers and complicated the implementation of the consultative sales approach model. 
  • Philadelphia Works and its partners tried reaching out to employers, but most of them either did not respond or did not consider apprenticeships as a feasible option for their hiring and training requirements.  
  • Philadelphia Works, along with its partner JVES, organized outreach events to enhance employer communication. However, high staff turnover posed challenges in maintaining the planned schedule for these events.  
  • The study found that Philadelphia initiatives obtained extra technical support from IAA to implement new outreach strategies aimed at boosting engagement with employers.  
  • Philadelphia Works paused the implementation of the demonstration from November 2019 to January 2020 to tackle high staff turnover. During this period, efforts were concentrated on recruiting and training new personnel, as well as reallocating IAA trainings for these newcomers.  
  • The study found that many employers who did not pursue discussions about apprenticeships with MassHire typically thought their job site was too small to accommodate an apprenticeship program, failed to complete all required paperwork, or felt it was not an appropriate time to initiate an apprenticeship. 

Considerations for Interpreting the Findings

The study found that the exact amount of technical assistance provided to MassHire and Philadelphia Works was not properly recorded. The study authors estimated the number of technical assistance sessions received, making the exact number unclear. During data collection, grantees tracked their interactions with employers in a spreadsheet that could only track up to 10 contacts. Any extra contacts were not included, resulting in an unknown total number of employer interactions. Additionally, the implementation study did not clearly describe the analytical methods and data quality assurance procedures used.  

Reviewed by CLEAR

January 2025

Topic Area