Apprenticeships can be a powerful model for workforce development but too often completion rates fall short. Apprenticeships for America will host a webinar on September 25, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. ET to explore the challenges and strategies behind improving apprenticeship completion rates.

Successful apprenticeship initiatives often begin with the development of a strong employer partnership. Intermediaries play a key role in educating the employer about the benefits of apprenticeships, assisting in the development of the apprenticeship, and providing support for the operation of the apprenticeship. Apprenticeships for America will host a webinar on October 16, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. ET to offer two examples of such partnerships from the manufacturing and healthcare industries. The panel will explore:

• How their partnerships developed;
• Key factors and strategies that contributed to the success of the partnerships;
• Challenges that needed to be addressed and the solutions that were developed;
• How the partnerships contribute to apprentice retention and completion; and
• Suggestions for other intermediaries and employers.

This brief examines how the Urban Institute, partnered with Institute for Workplace Skills and Innovation America, supported employers in designing and launching youth apprenticeship programs by drawing on five years of experience as federally funded intermediaries. The brief outlines what works in employer outreach, program design and registration, and support for employers’ mentoring and scaling efforts.

Apprenticeship training and college are often considered substitutes for each other, when they in fact work best as complements. This WorkRise resource analyzes administrative apprenticeship data to better understand how colleges have engaged with the apprenticeship system, and the experiences of apprentices in college-sponsored apprenticeship programs.

In recognition of Youth Apprenticeship Week in 2024, Mathematica spoke with Maryland’s Director of Apprenticeship and Training and California’s deputy chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards. This recording was supported by the Registered Apprenticeship Technical Assistance Center of Excellence and highlights in-school and out-of-school youth apprenticeship initiatives for youth ages 16–24.

Early care and education (ECE) apprenticeship programs provide structured on-the-job learning combined with job-related education or coursework and are viewed as a promising strategy to prepare people for careers in ECE or provide career pathways for the people currently working in ECE. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation learning agenda offers a strategic approach to develop a portfolio of evidence and learning about the implementation and outcomes of ECE apprenticeship programs. It presents findings from a scan of existing materials and resources on ECE apprenticeships, expert interviews, and discussions at a virtual convening. This resource summarizes what is known about ECE apprenticeships, gaps in the knowledge base, and priorities for future research.

The U.S. Departments of Labor, Commerce, and Education published a report, America’s Talent Strategy: Equipping American Workers for the Golden Age, which presents a bold vision and concrete actions to transform the federal government’s approach to workforce development. The strategy outlines the Trump Administration’s blueprint for how it will prepare the workforce to seize the opportunities of President Trump’s America First economic agenda and power the nation’s entry into a new Golden Age of economic growth.

This Department of Labor announcement introduces the report and outlines the five strategic pillars of America’s Talent Strategy: Demand-Driven Strategies, Worker Mobility, Integrated Systems, Accountability, and Flexibility and Innovation.

This Jobs for the Future resource highlights Unlocked Labs, which is a program that offers technological education in corrections facilities and creates pathways to quality jobs for people who are incarcerated. To highlight the beneficial impacts these programs can have, three members of the Unlocked Labs team share their stories of how training and employment experience catalyzed their professional journeys from incarceration to well-paid quality jobs.

This National Center on Leadership for the Employment and Economic Advancement of People with Disabilities (LEAD Center) toolkit provides a blueprint to help build partnerships between workforce development boards/American Job Centers and banks. It provides practical guidance on creating linkages to financial literacy programming and career pathway opportunities for jobs within the banking sector, enhancing financial empowerment and career growth for participants. TANF front-line staff can utilize this resource to support participants in gaining financial empowerment and pursuing career pathways into bank jobs, that foster long-term personal growth and financial stability.

For more information, please contact Yvonne Wright at ywright@ndi-inc.org.