Episode: 638

Episode Title: Make Apprenticeships Mainstream

When college is the only choice, young people may lose out on a great career. Here’s why this needs to change, next on The Perna Syndicate.

Ep 638 show:

Hello and welcome to The Perna Syndicate today! Pursuing a college degree has always been a time-honored path to achieving the American Dream. A recent Gallup study found that 54% of parents want their kids to enroll in college after high school. So what’s the problem with that?

In recent years, the cost of college tuition has ballooned out of control. In a time when inflation has made life harder for so many people, it’s just not clear if college offers a significant return on investment. Some college graduates, underemployed and burdened with student loans, will never break even on their education, much less profit from it. It’s sad. 

Another challenge for colleges is that many times, the curriculum doesn’t evolve fast enough to keep up with employer demands. In a way, this is understandable—the world is changing faster than ever—but it’s still a downside for industries that are especially dependent on cutting-edge technology. 

That’s one reason that apprenticeships are gaining ground. But for these pathways to become truly mainstream, we must put aside the bias that only people with degrees are worth interviewing. Screening applicants for a college degree disqualifies about two-thirds of Americans, and disproportionately excludes Black and Hispanic populations.

I talk about apprenticeships a lot, because we need a real paradigm shift here. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how you gain your skills if you can apply them effectively in the workplace.  

Next time on The Perna Syndicate: are apprenticeships too good to be true? That’s what some kids ask when they hear about all the upsides of becoming an apprentice. Join me tomorrow for more on that…see you then!