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Youth Apprenticeship in Action: Principles in Practice
Report/Research

Youth Apprenticeship in Action: Principles in Practice

September 21, 2021

At a Glance

This brief explains how the core components of youth apprenticeship programs fit together and presents a set of principles that providers can adopt to improve the quality of their programs.

Read the Full Report
Contributors
Andrea Messing-Mathie
Practices & Centers Topics

Youth apprenticeship is a proven strategy for connecting the learning needs of students and the talent needs of employers. However, it can often be difficult to succinctly explain how apprenticeship “works”—especially to students, families, educators, and employers who are unfamiliar with this training model.

This brief provides overviews of three youth apprenticeships:

  • The production technician program offered by the Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee in the state of Washington
  • The industrial mechanic apprenticeship offered by the Charleston Regional Youth Apprenticeship program at Trident Technical College in South Carolina
  • The early childhood educator program offered by Early Care & Education Pathways to Success in California
Flowchart illustrating the AJAC Pathway for Production Technician. It shows the progression from high school to completion, including foundational courses, on-the-job training, and further education.

The Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee (AJAC) is an intermediary organization whose mission is to help build the state of Washington’s aerospace and advanced manufacturing workforce through Registered Apprenticeship. It has two Youth Registered Apprenticeship programs.

The graphic above offers a schematic depiction of the type of journey AJAC students may experience and illustrates the supports they receive along the way.

All of the overviews in the full report include similar images that depict how the components of youth apprenticeship fit together in a particular program and illustrate how the providers have used the guiding principles of the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship to ensure that they offer effective, high-quality experiences for the participants.

This tool was funded by the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship. JFF is proud to be a national PAYA partner.

What Is Youth Apprenticeship?
Youth apprenticeships are work-based learning programs designed for high school students. They generally incorporate the key elements of the standard apprenticeship model, including paid on-the-job experience and related technical instruction. Youth apprenticeships offer high school students opportunities to experience real work environments and develop new skills by doing real-world tasks. They also give businesses a chance to inspire and develop a new generation of talent.
Learn More
Visit JFF's Center for Apprenticeship & Work-Based Learning
Visit the Center

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