Apprenticeship is a powerful tool for growing the American economy. However, despite the long history of apprenticeships in the U.S., they have yet to be widely adopted as an employment model outside of traditional trades such as construction and manufacturing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way public sector organizations in the United States need to function, as they have had to transition to remote platforms to stay safe while, simultaneously, the needs of the communities they serve have increased significantly. According to the Pew Research Center in April 2020, “overall, 43% of U.S. adults now say that they or someone in their household has lost a job or taken a cut in pay due to the outbreak…among lower-income adults, […] 52% say they or someone in their household has experienced this type of job upheaval.”

With record unemployment numbers and economic uncertainty due to COVID-19, policymakers and industry executives are trying to navigate ways to keep business moving while taking care of their constituents with meaningful, competitive jobs. Apprenticeship programs remain a key component of that strategy.

Since the Great Recession in 2008, Public Consulting Group (PCG) has been partnering with clients to design and pioneer federally-funded, national-leading workforce development programs. With rising student debt and industry concern about available competitive talent, federal workforce policymakers have moved to investing in apprenticeship programs. PCG has partnered to execute.