It is National Apprenticeship Week, and next week I officially begin my new executive fellowship with #AustinEconomicDevelopment, focused on expanding economic opportunity through advanced manufacturing career pathways in Austin. The timing feels meaningful.
For much of my career, I’ve worked at the intersection of workforce development, education, economic development, and employer engagement. I’ve sat in rooms with educators trying to help students see what is possible. I’ve collaborated with employers who desperately needed skilled talent but did not always have the time, structure, or language to build it. I’ve worked with workforce and economic development leaders across many states, trying to translate regional growth into real opportunity for residents.
Repeatedly, I’ve come back to a simple truth: talent does NOT magically appear because an industry is growing. Talent must be built. That is one reason registered apprenticeship matters so much right now.
Registered apprenticeship has deep roots in the United States. Wisconsin created the first state Registered Apprenticeship system in 1911, and Congress enacted the National Apprenticeship Act, also known as the Fitzgerald Act, in 1937. That federal framework established Registered Apprenticeship as a national strategy for structured, high-quality, earn-and-learn training.
So yeah, Registered Apprenticeship is kinda old. But old does not mean outdated. In fact, it may be one of the most modern workforce strategies we have, especially after some hard work in the last couple of decades.
That may sound strange at first. When people hear the word “apprenticeship,” they still picture only the traditional skilled trades. And to be clear, the trades remain essential. Our communities cannot function without electricians, plumbers, line workers, HVAC technicians, construction craft professionals, machinists, and other skilled workers who keep the physical economy moving. In fact, I often share that if I had to do it all over again, I’d be an electrician all day and twice on Sundays. TRUST ME.
But today’s Registered Apprenticeship system is also showing up in advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, healthcare, energy, telecommunications, transportation, and public service. Apprenticeship is no longer just a pathway into the industrial economy of the past. It is increasingly becoming a talent strategy for the industries defining the future. That is what makes this moment so exciting.
Registered Apprenticeship takes several things that we often talk about separately and puts them into one practical model: paid work, structured training, mentorship, wage progression, industry-recognized credentials, and employer commitment. For my education brethren, you know how difficult it is to pull that off!
For the worker, it says: you do not have to choose between earning and learning.
For the employer, it says: you do not have to wait for someone else to solve your talent pipeline.
For educators, it says: learning can be directly connected to labor market value.
For communities, it says: economic growth can become economic mobility if we design the pathways intentionally.
And the outcomes are not theoretical. Just take a glance at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Apprenticeship.gov, Registered Apprenticeship has more than 800,000 apprentices annually across the nation, an average starting salary of about $86,000 after completion, 93% employment retention, and a lifetime earning advantage of more than $300,000 for apprentice graduates compared with peers who do not complete an apprenticeship. Still don’t think apprenticeship works? (Take a gander at retention rates in skilled trades for non-apprentices).
The GAO has also reported that Registered Apprenticeship Programs enrolled about 940,000 people in FY 2024, and that completers earned average annual wages of about $80,000 in their first year after exiting the program, higher than average wages for associate degree holders. Those numbers matter because they remind us that apprenticeship is not just a program. It is a mobility engine.
This matters to me personally.
As a first-generation American, I’ve seen how confusing the education-to-career journey can be for families who are navigating systems without inherited maps. Many families understand the value of hard work. They understand sacrifice. They understand showing up early, staying late, and doing the job right. But they may not always have access to clear information about emerging careers, credentials, wages, employer expectations, or how to move from high school to postsecondary education to a stable career. I lived this reality. That gap is not about motivation. It is about navigation. And in a region like Central Texas, navigation matters more than ever.
The Austin metropolitan area is changing quickly. Advanced manufacturing and semiconductor-related growth are reshaping the regional economy. These sectors include semiconductors, aerospace, defense, life sciences, robotics, automation, and other high-tech production environments. Many of these jobs do not require a traditional four-year degree, but they do require technical skills, reliability, problem-solving, applied math, digital fluency, safety awareness, and the ability to learn in fast-moving environments. That is exactly the kind of environment where apprenticeships can shine.
Austin already has real momentum. Local employers and educational institutions have launched promising efforts to expand access to advanced manufacturing careers. In materials related to my fellowship, the Austin Regional Manufacturers Association, the City of Austin, and Austin Community College are highlighted for supporting dual-credit training programs that allow students to earn technical credentials before high school graduation, with ACC’s advanced manufacturing enrollment increasing sixfold in five years. Texas State Technical College, Temple College, and others are innovating as well, demonstrating curricular agility to meet the demands of the skilled workforce of the future. That is important progress. But the next step is deepening coordination and engagement that compels action by folks who may still be sitting on the sidelines.
My fellowship will focus on strengthening alignment among city agencies, Austin Community College, school districts, employers, workforce boards, and community partners so that students can not only access these pathways, but complete credentials and transition into high-wage advanced manufacturing careers. This kind of systems work may not always sound flashy. But it is the work that determines whether regional growth becomes shared prosperity, and I’ve seen it work. From New York to Florida, California to North Dakota, I’ve personally seen how true systems change can make real impact.
It is one thing to announce a new facility, a new training program, or a new partnership. It is another thing to make sure a student (and parents!) in Del Valle, Austin, Manor, Hutto, Pflugerville, or Bastrop can see the pathway early enough, understand the opportunity clearly enough, access transportation reliably enough, afford the training, complete the credential, connect with an employer, and succeed once hired. That is where apprenticeships become more than a workforce tool. It becomes infrastructure.
We often talk about infrastructure as roads, bridges, broadband, water, utilities, and industrial sites. All of that matters. But talent infrastructure matters too. A region’s ability to grow depends on whether it can develop the people who power that growth. The federal government is recognizing that reality. The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced up to $145 million for performance-based Registered Apprenticeship expansion across key sectors, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, nuclear energy infrastructure, information technology, healthcare, transportation, telecommunications, shipbuilding, and the defense industrial base. DOL also announced approximately $85 million in State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula funding to help states and territories expand Registered Apprenticeship and support employers and apprentices in priority industries. That combination of history, policy, employer demand, and community need is why apprenticeship feels newly innovative.
It is not innovative because it is trendy, or because it solves several modern problems at once. It addresses the affordability problem by allowing people to earn while they learn. It addresses the relevance problem by connecting training directly to employer needs. It addresses the equity problem by creating structured pathways into good jobs for people who may not have had access to professional networks. It addresses the retention problem by helping employers grow talent from within. And it addresses the regional competitiveness problem by giving communities a practical way to align education, workforce, and economic development strategy.
There’s no doubt in my mind…registered apprenticeship belongs at the center of our workforce conversation, especially in regions like Austin that are competing to grow and maintain their unique economic position. But for that to happen, more people need to understand what apprenticeship is and what it can become. We’ve come a long way, but I encourage you to nudge your colleagues:
- Employers need to see it as a business strategy, not a compliance exercise.
- Educators need to see it as a bridge between learning and economic mobility, not a separate track. (Workforce Pell is keeping them busy BTW!)
- Economic developers need to see it as part of site readiness and regional competitiveness.
- Workforce boards need to see it as a performance-driven model that can connect training investments to real jobs.
- Students and families need to see it as a prestigious, modern, paid pathway into a career with momentum.
- And policymakers need to keep reducing friction so that more employers can participate without watering down quality.
So, my call to action during National Apprenticeship Week is simple:
I implore you to take one concrete step to learn more about Registered Apprenticeship.
Attend a National Apprenticeship Week event. Talk to a sponsor. Ask whether an occupation in your industry is apprenticeable (yes that’s a word!). Explore how your organization could support related instruction, mentoring, wraparound services, employer engagement, data sharing, or outreach. Challenge one outdated assumption about who apprenticeship is for.
Because after more than 90 years, Registered Apprenticeship is having a moment again. Not because it is new. Because it STILL works. And because in an economy defined by rapid technology change, rising education costs, talent shortages, and uneven access to opportunity, one of the most innovative things we can do is build pathways that are structured, paid, employer-connected, and human-centered. That is the promise of Registered Apprenticeship.
And in Central Texas, that promise feels especially urgent. Let’s connect, I’d love to hear your story!
#NationalApprenticeshipWeek #NAW2026 #RegisteredApprenticeship #ApprenticeshipUSA #WorkforceDevelopment #EconomicDevelopment #AdvancedManufacturing #Semiconductors #AustinTX #CentralTexas #CareerPathways #EarnAndLearn
Originally published on LinkedIn.