Modern Apprenticeships: Bridging Workforce Gaps
The recent to modernize America鈥檚 workforce programs is more than a policy shift鈥攊t鈥檚 a recognition that the way we prepare people for skilled careers must fundamentally evolve.
At , a division of 黑料网, we鈥檝e long believed that the most powerful learning happens on the job. And we鈥檝e built tools to make that learning more structured, measurable and valuable鈥攆or both workers and employers.
This national momentum around work-based learning validates what so many of us in the field have been saying for years:鈥疻e need a system that treats skilled trades and applied professions with the same intentionality we give to traditional academic pathways.
The Scale of the Mismatch
Right now, the U.S. faces a massive workforce mismatch. We have about 80 million middle-skill jobs鈥攔oles that require more than a high school diploma but not necessarily a four-year degree. Think: healthcare techs, electricians, IT support specialists, logistics coordinators. Fewer than 69 million people are trained for them. That鈥檚 a gap of over 11 million.
And if we include professions like teaching and nursing 鈥� careers that require both clinical hours and college coursework 鈥� that number grows to nearly 13 million. These are not abstract data points. This gap is stalling economic mobility, limiting employer growth, and holding back entire communities.
The Promise of Apprenticeship
Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) are one of the most underutilized tools we have to address this crisis. RAPs provide paid, structured, debt-free pathways into in-demand careers. And they work: Completers earn, on average, over $80,000 annually鈥攁nd 90% are employed after finishing their program.
What鈥檚 more, funding isn鈥檛 the barrier. Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs receive about $1.5 billion annually. But across federal, state, and local workforce programs, the funding pool for earn-and-learn models is closer to $15 billion per year. Apprenticeships are eligible for the overwhelming majority of it.
Yet many schools and systems don鈥檛 access these funds鈥攂ecause they鈥檙e siloed, complex, and often hidden in plain sight. At Craft, we鈥檙e helping untangle that process. Not just to navigate the red tape, but to make work-based learning sustainable and scalable.
Beyond the 鈥楴on-College鈥� Binary
There鈥檚 a persistent myth that apprenticeships are only for 鈥渘on-college鈥� professions. That鈥檚 outdated鈥攁nd it limits opportunity.
Some of the most promising workforce pathways鈥攕uch as teaching and nursing鈥攔equire college degrees. That doesn鈥檛 mean they can鈥檛 also include structured work-based learning. In fact, they should. Apprenticeships in these fields can braid together CTE, clinical experience, and higher education credit to reduce cost, accelerate readiness, and support equity.
We鈥檝e seen it firsthand. From teacher residency pathways that combine classroom time with degree progress, to nursing apprenticeships that reduce the gap between theory and practice, the apprenticeship model isn鈥檛 an alternative to college鈥攊t鈥檚 a bridge.
A System That Moves with Learners
The executive order offers urgency and validation. But it鈥檚 what we do with it that matters.
We don鈥檛 believe in forcing people into rigid boxes. We believe in designing systems that move with people, not against them. That means aligning funding, credentials, and real job experience in ways that unlock access to the professions communities need most.
The skilled labor shortage is real. But so is the opportunity in front of us. Let鈥檚 make the most of it.
