Youth apprenticeships bridge education and careers, giving young people hands-on skills, progressive wages, credentials, and mentorship. Jobs for the Future (JFF) expands access to these opportunities, advancing economic mobility and creating pathways to quality jobs.
The Center for Apprenticeship & Work-Based Learning at JFF envisions a future where every young person—regardless of background or zip code—can access a career that offers not just a paycheck, but economic mobility, belonging, and purpose. Our goal is ambitious but achievable: a national ecosystem where every young person can move seamlessly from learning to work, and from a first job to a lasting career.
Youth apprenticeship is one of the most powerful, underutilized tools we have to make this vision real. For young people ages 16–24, it offers a proven path to education, career advancement, and long-term economic opportunity through paid, hands-on learning that is directly connected to in-demand industry credentials and career pathways. That’s why JFF’s youth apprenticeship strategy focuses on expanding access to these high-quality programs at scale, partnering with employers, schools, colleges, and intermediaries to align classroom learning with real work experience. We prioritize youth-centered design and systems change so that more young people—especially those from populations statistically underrepresented in apprenticeship—can access quality jobs and a durable route to economic advancement.
“The hands-on experience is what drew me to [apprenticeship]. Being able to get into the field and learn from those with the experience is what benefited me the most.”
– Brayden Libby, former apprentice, Vortex Companies and member of JFF’s Youth Council of Changemakers
As a trusted, national intermediary, JFF’s Center for Apprenticeship & Work-Based Learning is uniquely positioned to scale and expand the impact of youth apprenticeship. We work at each level of the ecosystem—engaging employers and industry partners, K-12 and postsecondary institutions, training providers, community and youth-serving organizations, and policymakers—to build programs that are rigorous, sustainable, and built to last. Our reach spans industries and sectors, and our impact extends across rural, urban, and suburban communities alike, ensuring that geography is never a barrier to opportunity.
We bring deep, field-tested expertise to every stage of program development and growth, including:
to identify opportunity and need before resources are committed
ensuring apprenticeships meet rigorous quality and compliance standards
including RAPIDS analysis, to drive continuous improvement and demonstrate outcomes
to build employer demand and long-term buy-in
connecting fragmented efforts into coordinated, scalable systems
so programs can thrive well beyond initial investment
bringing together the field’s leaders to share best practices, align strategy, and accelerate progress
ensuring partners have the tools, resources, and capacity to succeed
working with state leaders, policymakers, and apprenticeship stakeholders to strengthen youth apprenticeship policy and access
Youth apprenticeship programs can take many forms, and their definitions and structures vary by state. Some are more aligned to pre-apprenticeship models, some are Registered, and some are not; some serve only in-school youth, while others serve all young people 16-24, regardless of connections to school and work.
The diversity of models and approaches makes youth apprenticeship programs an essential strategy for helping employers and industries cultivate talent and meet the demands—and disruptions—of today’s changing labor market. They create strong bridges from secondary education to postsecondary and workforce opportunities, expand access to our nation’s apprenticeship system, and support career exploration and social capital building, and economic mobility for today’s young people.
“[Apprenticeship] is about learning, training, and becoming a successful and professional person. We got to see other people’s experiences and know that we’re not alone. My apprenticeship shaped my career goals and how I view the future.”
– Freddie Rollinson, apprentice, Apprenticeships for America, and member of the Youth Council of Changemakers
Young people face challenges in the education and labor markets.
More than 40% of recent college graduates are underemployed, and more than 4 million young people ages 16–24 are disconnected from both school and work. Youth apprenticeship offers a way to earn wages while training, avoid taking on debt, and gain a portable, nationally recognized credential connected to jobs that are actually available. These programs also help young people build social capital, practical skills, and a clearer understanding of the labor market—including how to navigate changes brought by AI and automation—while creating direct paths to employment and further education.
Employers currently have more than 7.6 million open jobs they can’t fill.
Youth apprenticeship is an effective way to develop talent. It allows companies to train and mentor future employees according to their specific needs. Apprenticeship has been shown to improve retention and productivity, reduce the costs of turnover, expand access to partnerships and resources, and support succession planning. As many industries face workforce shortages, youth apprenticeship is a solution that shouldn’t be overlooked.
“The on-the-job training [in the aquaculture apprenticeship] was really powerful. I mean, you can’t really teach someone how to work on a farm without having them out on the farm.”
– Andrew Hoffman, former pre-apprentice and apprentice, Bang Island Mussels, and member of the Youth Council of Changemakers
For a decade, JFF’s Center for Apprenticeship & Work-Based Learning has been at the forefront of expanding youth apprenticeship and young adult access to Registered Apprenticeship nationwide. We’ve built and scaled programs and on-ramps from the ground up, helped states define and structure youth apprenticeship policy, aligned workforce and education systems, and strengthened the capacity of community-based and youth-serving partners to sustain this work for the long term.
Our work has had the following impacts:
5,155 youth and young adults enrolled in Registered Apprenticeships—including 1,395 young people who were disconnected from school and work
1,080+ youth and young adults connected to pre-apprenticeship programs
71+ Registered Apprenticeship programs developed specifically to serve youth
12 pre-apprenticeship programs created to prepare young people for the transition to registered pathways
3,339 employers engaged and supported as active partners
12+ industries transformed through youth apprenticeship expansion, including manufacturing, health care, aquaculture, information technology, natural resources, education, finance, and the building trades
“The [aquaculture] pre-apprenticeship program gave me more than just oyster knowledge and boots-on-the-ground intel. It provided me a doorway into the aquaculture community and I learned what it took to show up and perform in a professional environment. These connective experiences made everything more meaningful and I came away with skills that I still carry with me, most notably an adaptability and a willingness to learn hard things.”
– Lily Kanady, former pre-apprentice, Aquaculture Pioneers Pre-Apprenticeship, and member of JFF’s Youth Council of Changemakers
JFF has long supported partners across the country with practical strategies and hands-on guidance to help them strengthen and expand youth apprenticeship pathways. That support includes individualized coaching, peer learning through national communities of practice, and access to tools and resources on topics such as employer engagement, youth-centered program design, sustainability, and successful transitions from pre-apprenticeship into Registered Apprenticeship.
By pairing technical assistance with opportunities for shared learning, JFF helps partners build stronger relationships with workforce and education systems, refine their program models, and spread promising practices across sites. Those efforts contribute to meaningful outcomes for young people and partners alike, including increased access to pre-apprenticeship and Registered Apprenticeship programs, new and expanded pre-apprenticeship and Registered Apprenticeship opportunities, and stronger local apprenticeship ecosystems. Our approach build the expertise of local partners and expands their capacity of local partners to serve and support youth and young adults and the employers that hire them.
Below are spotlights on JFF’s work with partners in the field:
At JFF, our Next-Generation Apprenticeship for Next-Generation Talent initiative has expanded access to pre-apprenticeship and Registered Apprenticeship programs for young people, ages 16-24. As part of the initiative, we’re learning directly from those closest to…
Learn promising practices in building and growing successful apprenticeship programs for opportunity youth. Learn promising practices in building and growing successful apprenticeship programs for opportunity youth. The number of opportunity youth—young people ages 16 to…
Jobs for the Future (JFF) recently analyzed a decade of federal RA data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Registered Apprenticeship Partners Information Database System (RAPIDS) to glean insights about the system’s youngest apprentices—ages 16…
Time-based: Completion is based on meeting the number of related- technical instruction and on-the-job-training hours required by the program. Competency-based: Completion is based on demonstrating mastery of defined occupational skills and competencies; often used where…
Jobs for the Future (JFF) was contracted by the U.S. Department of Labor as a Youth Apprenticeship Intermediary (YAI) between 2019 and 2023. This road map is an account of the strategies implemented and lessons…
During this inaugural Youth Apprenticeship Week, JFF calls for the creation of more inclusive apprenticeship pathways specifically tailored to young people who aren’t in school or working. At JFF’s Center for Apprenticeship & Work-Based Learning,…