As more Americans question the appeal of costly higher education programs, earn-and-learn models, like apprenticeship, are attracting increasing attention from policymakers and employers alike.

While apprenticeship is widespread in many parts of Europe, apprenticeship models in the U.S. traditionally have faced significant obstacles to scale. Federally registered apprenticeship programs have limited penetration in industries outside the skilled trades. Barriers to adoption have spanned both the supply- and demand-side: Employers struggle to navigate complex regulatory requirements and question the return on investment, while youth and families express skepticism about forgoing the traditional pathway to four-year college often viewed as the north star for economic success.

The CareerWise Colorado program, inspired by Switzerland’s youth apprenticeship system, aims to bridge the gap between high-school and postsecondary credentials by creating an “optionsmultiplier” model. The vision is a career-focused model from which any student, regardless of future plans, could benefit. Notably, the program emphasizes that apprenticeship is not a diversion from higher education, but rather a multiple pathways approach to both high-paying jobs and further education.1 In its operations, the program adopts a dual customer approach, targeting a diverse student population and a broad range of employers in industries and occupations with high demand for skilled workers. CareerWise calls it “a businessled, student-centered model.”2 Since its launch in Colorado in 2017, the CareerWise model has scaled to New York City and Buffalo (New York), Indiana, Upper Peninsula (Michigan), and Washington D.C.

At the time of publishing, CareerWise leaders had advised the efforts of seven cities or regions around the country on how to start and operate modern youth apprenticeship programs. Simply stated, CareerWise is one of the most widely cited youth apprenticeship efforts in the United States today.

However, while youth apprenticeship is both gaining steam across new geographies and party lines, there is surprisingly little research to help guide implementation of new efforts. While some past studies have found promising outcomes for learners and employers alike, most are based on programs outside the United States. Past studies also tell us relatively little about which factors enable program success.