President Trump signed an executive order to double the amount of funding for apprenticeship programs, up to nearly $200 million.

The goal is, in Trump’s words, “training people to have great jobs and high paying jobs."

These goals are also top of mind for young adults: in survey after survey, college students make it clear that they are seeking higher wages and better career prospects in return for their investment. But many colleges do not equip graduates with the skills required for labor-market success. In turn, employers bemoan their inability to find students with necessary skills, and graduates face underemployment and lower-than-expected earnings.

In short, this bachelor’s-or-bust approach is not working for students or employers.

While we praise coding bootcamps that train students to fill a need in our increasingly technological economy, we should also laud apprenticeship programs that train students to fix the plumbing, air conditioning, electrical systems, and elevators that make bootcamps—and almost everything else in our society—function. ...We need to collect and disseminate more data to inform young adults about apprenticeship opportunities, helping to spread the model to more students and develop programs covering more career options.

Read the source article at aei.org