Apprenticeships in the U.S. are often founded to solve specific challenges organizations face. But are they effective?
A wave of apprenticeship programs in the tech industry have been generating media buzz. Among the organizations receiving attention include education startup Multiverse, which has raised $220 million for its apprenticeship program, and Accenture, which has launched its apprenticeship program in numerous cities throughout the U.S. Some media outlets have been framing these apprenticeship programs as a counterpoint to the spate of layoffs that have also been occurring in the tech sector. Some commentators proclaim apprenticeships as being the solution to joblessness during a recession, while others frame them as the solution to the tech industry’s diversity problem.
The reality is that apprenticeships in the U.S. defy any sweeping pronouncements of this kind, and to understand why, we need to look at what differentiates apprenticeships here from apprenticeships in the region where they first originated, Europe. During the Middle Ages, apprenticeships were arrangements wherein young workers would learn a craft on the job, such as masonry or blacksmithing, under the tutelage of a master craftsman. In return for their labor, these apprentices would receive food, lodging, and the transmission of skills. There was clarity in what both master craftsman and apprentice would be getting out of this exchange.