Modern Apprenticeships: Bridging Workforce Gaps
The recent executive order to modernize America’s workforce programs is more than a policy shift—it’s a recognition that the way we prepare people for skilled careers must fundamentally evolve.
At Craft Education, a division of WGU, we’ve long believed that the most powerful learning happens on the job. And we’ve built tools to make that learning more structured, measurable and valuable—for 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: We 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—roles 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’s a gap of over 11 million.
And if we include professions like teaching and nursing — careers that require both clinical hours and college coursework — 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—and 90% are employed after finishing their program.
What’s more, funding isn’t 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’t access these funds—because they’re siloed, complex, and often hidden in plain sight. At Craft, we’re helping untangle that process. Not just to navigate the red tape, but to make work-based learning sustainable and scalable.
Beyond the ‘Non-College’ Binary
There’s a persistent myth that apprenticeships are only for “non-college” professions. That’s outdated—and it limits opportunity.
Some of the most promising workforce pathways—such as teaching and nursing—require college degrees. That doesn’t mean they can’t 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’ve 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’t an alternative to college—it’s a bridge.
A System That Moves with Learners
The executive order offers urgency and validation. But it’s what we do with it that matters.
We don’t 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’s make the most of it.
