Evaluation of the Scaling Apprenticeship and Closing the Skills Gap Grant Programs
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About the Study
In 2019, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employment and Training Administration to fund the Urban Institute and its partners, Mathematica Policy Research and Capital Research Corporation to conduct the Evaluation of the Scaling Apprenticeship and Closing the Skills Gap Grant Programs, which aimed to expand apprenticeships in non-traditional industries, such as health care, information technology, and advanced manufacturing. The Scaling Apprenticeship and Closing the Skills Gap Grant evaluation had three goals: document the design and implementation of the grantees’ registered and unregistered apprenticeship programs, determine the impact of the grant programs on apprentices’ earnings and employment, and assess whether the benefits of health care and information technology registered apprenticeships exceed their costs.
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 apprenticeships and employment and training. The project also addresses Departmental strategic goals and priorities.
Implementation Study
- What apprenticeship components, models, partnerships, and strategies did Scaling Apprenticeship and Closing the Skills Gap grantees design or expand?
- How did grantees implement the components, models, partnerships, and strategies?
- What components, models, partnerships, and strategies do grantees and their partners report as promising for supporting positive outcomes for apprentices and employers?
- What aspects of apprenticeships might be replicable?
Impact Study
- What is the impact of registered apprenticeships on earnings and employment of participants in the ninth quarter following program enrollment?
- What is the impact of unregistered apprenticeships on earnings and employment of participants in the ninth quarter following program enrollment?
- What are the impacts of registered and unregistered apprenticeships on ninth-quarter earnings and employment for different occupational sectors?
- What are the impacts of registered and unregistered apprenticeships on ninth-quarter earnings and employment for subgroups?
Cost-Benefit Analysis
- What are the costs and benefits of apprenticeship for key information technology and health care apprenticeship stakeholders, including the government, Scaling Apprenticeship and Closing the Skills Gap grantees and their partners, employers, and apprentices?
- What is the net benefit of information technology and health care apprenticeship for employers?
- What is the net social benefit of information technology and health care apprenticeship, where net social benefit is defined as the total monetized benefits of apprenticeship for all stakeholders, minus the costs of apprenticeship for the same group of stakeholders?
- The Implementation of Registered and Unregistered Apprenticeship: Evidence from the Scaling Apprenticeship and Closing the Skills Gap Grants (Research Report, April 2026)
- The Impact of Registered and Unregistered Apprenticeship: Evidence from the Scaling Apprenticeship and Closing the Skills Gap Grants (Research Report, April 2026)
Project Duration: 60 Months
End Date: September 2025
Contractor: Urban Institute
For More Information: ChiefEvaluationOffice@dol.gov
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.