About the Report

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In 2019, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employment and Training Administration  (ETA) to fund contractors Urban Institute, Mathematica Policy Research, and Capital Research Corporation to design and conduct analysis to build and expand the evidence portfolio on apprenticeships, including models, components, partnerships, and strategies that often include the work of community colleges. 

This Department of Labor-funded study was a result of the annual process to determine the Department’s research priorities for the upcoming year. It contributes to the labor evidence-base to inform programs and policies that impact community colleges, apprenticeships, and employment and training. The project also addresses Departmental strategic goals and priorities. 

The DOL Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) commissioned an evaluation of the Scaling Apprenticeship and Closing the Skills Gap grant programs, including an impact study that estimates the impact of apprenticeship on employment and earnings. Using a quasi-experimental design, the evaluation estimated the impact on ninth quarter post enrollment average employment and earnings relative to two different comparison groups: community college students and Wagner-Peyser employment service participants. 

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Key Takeaways

• Registered apprenticeship programs had large, statistically significant impacts on employment and earnings in the ninth quarter following enrollment relative to both comparison groups. The positive impact of apprenticeship on employment in the ninth quarter following enrollment ranged from 7.8 percentage points (Wagner-Peyser analysis) to 8.8 percentage points (College analysis). Registered apprenticeship’s positive impact on ninth-quarter earnings ranged from $3,230 in the Wagner-Peyser analysis to $4,693 in the College analysis.
• Registered apprenticeship had strong ninth-quarter employment and earnings impacts for IT, healthcare and advanced manufacturing, relative to both comparison groups.
• Registered apprenticeship had significant ninth-quarter employment and earnings impacts for most subgroups, relative to both comparison groups.
• Unregistered apprenticeship programs had positive, statistically significant impacts on ninth-quarter employment and earnings relative to both comparison groups. The impact of unregistered apprenticeship on ninth quarter employment ranged from 3.9 percentage points (College analysis) to 4.8 percentage points (Wagner-Peyser analysis). Unregistered apprenticeship’s impact on ninth-quarter earnings ranged from $3,368 (College analysis) to $3,490 (Wagner-Peyser analysis).
• Unregistered apprenticeships had statistically significant ninth-quarter employment and earnings impacts for advanced manufacturing.
• Unregistered apprenticeship had mixed ninth-quarter employment and earnings impacts for subgroups.

Citation

Deutsh, J., Kuehn, D., Gardiner, K., Reed, D., Payne, J., Macklin, M., Spitzer, A., Schochet, P., Harnack-Eber, A. & Kress, P. (2025) The Impact of Registered and Unregistered Apprenticeship: Evidence from the Scaling Apprenticeship and Closing the Skills Gap Grants. Report prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor, Chief Evaluation Office. Urban Institute, Washington, DC.

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The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.