There is no conflict of interest.
Citation
Browning, B., & Nickoli, R. (2018). Supporting Community College Delivery of Apprenticeships. Jobs for the Future.
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the experiences of community colleges participating in registered apprenticeships.
- The study used a survey and interviews to assess engagement in registered apprenticeships at community colleges.
- The study found that engagement in registered apprenticeships among surveyed community colleges was high and that recruitment was a top challenge and technical assistance interest for participating colleges.
- The study includes a small sample size of community colleges in the U.S. who have previous engagement in workforce development initiatives which limits the generalizability of the results.
Intervention Examined
Registered Apprenticeship (RA)
Features of the Intervention
The registered apprenticeship system in the U.S. offers participants the opportunity to learn a trade while earning higher wages and receiving related classroom instruction, often at community colleges. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor created the Registered Apprenticeship College Consortium (RACC) to expand registered apprenticeship offerings at local colleges. This apprenticeship system is managed by the Office of Apprenticeship and various state apprenticeship offices. Most apprentices are adults seeking employment, returning to work, or changing careers with sponsoring unions or employers using specific criteria to select applicants.
Features of the Study
The authors conducted an online survey with 25 community colleges involved in workforce development and 350 members of RACC. They received responses from 38 colleges across 13 states. The sample included schools of various sizes and locations, both urban and rural, with different levels of involvement in the registered apprenticeship system, including grantees and consortium members. Survey respondents held different roles within their colleges. The survey allowed for anonymous responses, and participants could opt to receive more information about the study. From those who wanted more information, 3 individuals were selected for phone interviews because their answers matched the overall trends. The survey included ranking and open-ended questions, and the responses were categorized by themes. The authors provided descriptive statistics from the survey and anecdotal insights from the interviews.
Findings
- The study found that 84% of community college respondents participated as a partner in a registered apprenticeship program, 11% participated in a non-registered apprenticeship program, and 5% did not participate in any apprenticeship program.
- About 75% of community college respondents offered related technical instruction for at least one apprenticeship program run by another organization.
- The study found that 52% of community college programs collaborated with non-union partners, 4% worked with union-affiliated partners, and 44% worked with both groups.
- The study found that manufacturing apprenticeships were the most common, followed by construction, healthcare, and transportation.
- Less than one-third of participating colleges selected participants; unions or employers typically handled participant selection and may have affected the talent pipeline for apprenticeships.
- The study found that 78% of colleges integrated apprenticeships with college-credit programs, enabling students to work toward multiple credentials at once. However, only 35% of colleges linked their programs with industry credentials.
- Nearly 80% of non-sponsoring survey respondents wanted to learn about becoming apprenticeship sponsors.
- Employer engagement strategies and federal funding were reported as the top technical assistance needs for community colleges.
- The study found that selected interviewees successfully collaborated with community referral partners and overcame employer engagement challenges by partnering with their state apprenticeship agency or industry experts.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The study focused on a limited sample of community colleges that were part of an existing group of workforce development-focused institutions. The participants selected for interviews represented a smaller, non-random subset of survey respondents. The lack of statistical controls for missing data and differences in survey response rates means that the results cannot be applied to all community colleges in the surveyed group or nationwide.