The Current State of Diversity and Equity in U.S. Apprenticeships For Young People

Registered Apprenticeship (RA) offers a promising pathway to well-paid work in industries with ample room for professional and salary growth. Unlike apprenticeship systems in other parts of the world, the U.S. RA system isn’t built as a career pathway for young people. In fact, the average age of new apprentices in the United States is 29. This report analyzes 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 to 24. The data was disaggregated by race/ethnicity and gender to better understand the challenges and opportunities among these groups. The report examines the following questions: How diverse is the population of young apprentices? Are they clustered in certain occupations? How do their exit wages compare to those of their peers?