JEVS Human Services is following a growing trend by instituting the apprenticeship model to businesses throughout the Greater Philadelphia region. To walk the talk, JEVS is bringing on apprentices within the information technology and health care departments of the organization, as well as facilitating apprenticeship opportunities for clients within JEVS’s career and education services and students at JEVS’ Orleans Technical College.
The expansion of apprenticeships has recently gained momentum in the United States:
- In 2011, there were 357,600 active apprentices, and 1,400 new programs were registered with the Federal government. By 2018 those numbers reached 585,000 and 3,200, respectively. (1)
- Although this makes up a small portion of the nation’s workforce, the results are promising. 94% of apprentices are retaining employment with the employer that they trained with. (2)
- Additionally, though there is a need for more research on the return on investment and benefits for employers, all thirteen participants in a prominent 2016 study felt that there were many short-term, and even more long-term, benefits to apprenticeships and planned to continue the practice. (3)
- Some of this growth can be attributed to increased government funding. The US Department of Labor invested $160 million in 2019, up from $90 million in 2016. (4)
Despite this positive trend, however, the U.S. still lags far behind many European countries where apprenticeships are much more commonplace.
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(1): United States Department of Labor: Employment and Training Administration
(4) Congressional Research Service: Registered Apprenticeship: Federal Role and Recent Federal Efforts. 2019