Episode: 67
Episode Title: Why Young People Are Choosing Apprenticeships

What’s the biggest reason that young people are choosing apprenticeship over other postsecondary pathways? Find out—coming up next.

Ep 67 show:
Hello, and welcome to The Perna Syndicate! It’s National Apprenticeship Week, and today I want to look at what is probably the biggest reason that apprenticeships are coming back into style. It’s the staggering cost of college that is causing young people to look elsewhere for the skills to enter a living-wage profession.

Student loan debt is one of the biggest frustrations for Millennials. A 2019 survey reported that fully 75 percent of humanities majors and 73 percent of social science graduates regretted their education. (Granted, those percentages do drop significantly for STEM-related majors. But still!)

On the other hand, apprentices are overwhelmingly satisfied with their career training choice. According to a recent report, 97 percent of graduates from a manufacturing apprenticeship program said that participating in the program was the right decision. 81 percent would recommend it to a friend.

Apprenticeships have tremendous benefits for workers, but they’re also a big win for employers. Apprenticeships are a way to train workers in the skills needed for the company to compete on the global stage.

The skills gap isn’t going to close itself, and more and more employers are finding that apprenticeship is the answer. The Department of Labor offers resources and toolkits for employers looking to create their own registered apprenticeship program. You can check it out at apprenticeship.gov.

Thanks for being a part of The Perna Syndicate today. Tomorrow, we’ll look at apprenticeships for women as a way to break into fields typically dominated by men. Are women the key to closing the skills gap? Tune in tomorrow—we’ll see you then!