Accelerated Tech Training

As apprenticeship expands into tech roles, competency-based instruction can be an attractive option for companies and working learners. Also, a new Stanford study taps payroll data to draw a firm link between AI and dimming job prospects for recent college grads and other early-career workers. (Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Subscribe here.)

Competency-Based Apprenticeship

Registered apprenticeships are expanding beyond the construction trades, most notably into tech roles. That growth could lead to twists on the typical apprenticeship, including accelerated versions that allow participants to test out of being taught skills they already possess.

Build Carolina is an intriguing example of what could be possible with tech apprenticeships. Its approach leans on competency-based education and assessment, meaning the federally registered apprenticeship program can be completed in roughly six months—far less than the three-plus years needed for most apprenticeships in the construction trades.

The small nonprofit based in Greenville, S.C., has its roots in the coding bootcamp space and is focused on the gap between education and career, says Kaity Miller, Build Carolina’s COO. “We pick up our apprentices after they’ve had their skills training, but are lacking in any real-job experience.”

Many of those apprentices are career changers, she says, who bring both technical skills and the professional ones that employers want. They participate in apprenticeship tracks across software engineering, data analytics, cloud computing, and AI and machine learning, typically working for companies outside the tech industry. 

Build Carolina has worked with the U.S. Department of Labor and Apprenticeship Carolina—which manages earn-and-learn programs for South Carolina’s two-year technical college system—to provide credit for the prior education of apprentices.

“We’ve helped launch tech careers for former carpenters, EMTs, military vets, cosmetologists, event planners, caregivers, machine operators, teachers, physical therapists, and PhD students,” Miller says.

Competency and Quality: The program design, training, and skill development in Build Carolina’s apprenticeships are robust, says Bhavani Arabandi, a principal research associate at the Urban Institute, who has kicked the tires on those programs. For example, she says, the apprenticeship tracks include much more than the 144 hours of related technical instruction that are required in federally registered programs.

“Some folks learn material faster than others,” says Arabandi. “There’s no need to keep people for a whole year or 18 months if they’re ready.”

Competency-based education’s potential in apprenticeship cannot be overstated, says Josh Laney, who recently stepped down as the director of Alabama’s Office of Apprenticeship and is now vice president of apprenticeship and work-embedded learning at the Competency-Based Education Network.

In apprenticeship language, the term “competency-based” typically only refers to how on-the-job learning is measured, Laney says. More of that approach is needed, he says, while also being vigilant about ensuring quality so competency-based apprenticeships aren’t just a way to cut training times. 

Laney says apprenticeship in this country is generally headed in the right direction with on-the-job learning. For example, about half (48%) of Alabama’s active apprenticeship programs are competency-based, versus time-based or hybrid programs. However, that share is probably higher than it is in most states.

It’s a different story with competency-based education and the instructional component of registered apprenticeships, Laney says. Even in the best apprenticeships, competency-based coursework is virtually nonexistent. And that’s a missed opportunity.

For Build Carolina, the competency-based approach means instruction can be adjusted along with fast-moving tech market trends while incorporating feedback from employers around South Carolina. The curriculum is constantly updated by instructors who also work in the field, which helps ensure that graduates have current, in-demand skills.

“A registered apprenticeship that uses quality competency-based education in the related technical instruction side and competency-based measurement in the on-the-job learning side would be the best of both worlds,” Laney says.

Employer Buy-In, Public Support: Demand for Build Carolina’s apprenticeships far outstrips the number of slots it can offer. Despite spending nothing on marketing since the program was created in 2021, the nonprofit has received 486 applications for 64 available apprenticeships.

“We have so many eager, talented individuals who just want their chance at their first tech job,” says Miller. “At the same time, we hear from employers about the struggle to find talent close to home and how they cannot afford to compete with West Coast salaries.”

Arabandi says Build Carolina selects its apprentices and employer partners with care. The nonprofit charges participating employers a $10K program fee, which covers the recruitment, vetting, prepping, instruction, mentorship, and Labor Department administrative requirements. She also praises the inclusion of strong mentorship and other supports, which set apprentices up for career success.

Even so, Miller says the program often has been a hard sell, particularly for smaller startups.

“Registered apprenticeships are a new concept in tech, and employers don’t always understand the differences or the advantages of an apprenticeship versus an internship,” Miller says. “Because of this, many employers don’t understand why they should pay an apprentice $26/hr when they have been paying interns $10/hr or nothing at all.” 

However, once they take the plunge, employers typically come back as repeat hosts of Build Carolina’s apprentices.

The tech talent hub has received state and federal grant money, which allows it to reduce participation cost for companies. The grants come through Apprenticeship Carolina, which helped stand up the program initially and provides support for onboarding apprentices.

Federal support has been minimal, however. And Build Carolina could use more public funds to encourage employers to participate.

Tech apprenticeships are on the rise in the U.S. A recent analysis from the Government Accountability Office found that computer-related occupations were the third-most common registered apprenticeships last year, accounting for 7% of roughly 660K active apprentices.

Arabandi says time-based apprenticeships make sense in the trades, where safety training and related requirements are particularly necessary. But she says tech and other industries may call for different approaches, for both businesses and apprentices.

The Kicker: “Individuals are starting with a lot of different experiences,” says Arabandi. “It cannot just be business as usual.”

Canaries in the Coal Mine

Artificial intelligence is indeed creating a tighter labor market for early-career jobseekers, according to new research from three Stanford University economists.

Since generative AI has become widely used, the working paper found, young workers (ages 22–25) in the most AI-exposed occupations, such as software developers and customer service reps, have experienced a 13% relative decline in employment. In contrast, jobs as health aides have been growing faster for young workers than for older ones.

Likewise, declines in entry-level jobs are concentrated in occupations where AI is more likely to automate human labor rather than augment it.

The study tapped data from ADP, a large payroll processing firm. Payroll data is a particularly good way to track complex, fast-moving changes to jobs, one labor market researcher told me. The findings also hold up when controlling for firm-level interest rate sensitivity, remote work, the pandemic’s impacts on education, and the slowdown in tech hiring.

“Economy-wide employment continues to grow, but employment growth for young workers has been stagnant,” the paper concludes.

The new research adds firm evidence about AI’s employment effects to anecdotes from large companies, dramatic predictions from tech leaders, and a smattering of credible takes about diminishing entry-level jobs and tightening career prospects for recent college graduates.  

“You can't know for sure, but it does look like AI is behind these big changes,” Erik Brynjolfsson, director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab and one of the study’s co-authors, told Axios AI+.

The research findings, of course, won’t stop people from arguing about how AI will reshape jobs, or what policymakers, educators, and employers should do about it. For his part, Brynjolfsson says addressing AI’s impacts might require rethinking how young workers learn on the job.

“I think that we’ll have to more explicitly train people, as opposed to just hoping that they will figure these things out on their own,” he told The Wall Street Journal.

A recent report from researchers at the Burning Glass Institute and the Project on Workforce from Harvard University looked at how AI could remap learning curves between entry-level and experienced workers while shaking up how expertise is built. The research concludes that the technology will trigger a sweeping reevaluation of professional development and human potential:

“In many fields, workers will need to find new ways to get on the career ladder while employers will need to find new ways to develop and retain talent as conventional pipelines are disrupted.”

Open Tabs

Workforce Pell
Community college noncredit programs commonly fall short of the learning duration, 150 to 600 hours, mandated by the newly passed Workforce Pell legislation, write researchers Mark D’Amico and Michelle Van Noy in a new paper. And many states lack the data on noncredit programs needed to determine whether they meet the law’s other requirements. The paper draws on findings from the State Noncredit Data Project and offers the Noncredit Data Taxonomy 2.0 as a resource for states.

Rural Talent
Five states have committed to developing career-connected credential pathways in rural communities. The $7.2M Rural Talent Lab project is led by the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges in partnership with the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association and HCM Strategists. With a focus on certificates and associate degrees, the lab will provide a range of supports in Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

College in High School
Dual-enrollment rates vary widely across the country, finds an analysis of federal data by the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships. For example, dual enrollment accounts for more than half of the total student enrollments in Idaho (57%) and Indiana (52%), but just 12% in California and 14% in Louisiana. The analysis also found participation gaps, with an underrepresentation of Black and Hispanic students in dual-enrollment programs.

Skilled Trades
The Home Depot Foundation announced $10M of investments in skilled trades training and education, including a $1M partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, which seeks to introduce young people to career opportunities in the construction trades. The money also will help expand work with foundation partners like the Home Builders Institute, which hopes to grow its pre-apprenticeship certification program by 2K high school students and 25 schools.

CEO in College
A partnership between Follett Higher Education and Saxby’s will bring experiential learning to collegiate retail. The program began with a pilot at Northeastern University and will expand to Purdue University next year. It provides students with business and leadership experience as they work as the “student CEO” while leading a team of their peers, managing day-to-day business at the campus bookstore, and earning wages and academic credit.

Job Moves
Aarti Dhupelia has been named CEO of One Million Degrees, a nonprofit that provides academic, financial, professional, and personal support to community college students. Dhupelia is currently executive vice chancellor and chief student experience officer at City Colleges of Chicago.

Julie Lammers has been promoted to president and CEO of American Student Assistance, a nonprofit foundation focused on K-12 career exploration. Lammers is ASA’s executive vice president. She replaces Jean Eddy, who is stepping down after nine years at the helm and will continue as executive chair and adviser.

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