Background

Article Abstract:

The history of youth apprenticeship goes back to the time of ancient Babylon, Egypt and Greece, when young people signed with master craftsmen to acquire skills that enabled them to practice a chosen trade. The European Middle Ages institutionalized apprenticeships as craft guilds. In the 19th century, apprenticeships became a recruitment tool for America's nascent labor unions. The assembly-line system of the early 1900s created a demand for low-level skills, making long apprenticeships less attractive. The 1930s New Deal launched federal registered-apprenticeship programs. In the 1990s, youth apprenticeships could be adopted to improve the quality of the US workforce.

History, Education and state, Education policy

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The issues

Article Abstract:

Government leaders, educational planners and parents in the US are thinking about adopting a school-to-work transition program based on the concept of youth apprenticeship as a way of boosting workforce competitiveness. The success of the plan would depend on the willingness of youths to commit themselves to a vocational track, acceptance of the plan by employers and the solutions to questions of how much involvement the federal government should have in a decision as intensely personal as education.

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Current situation

Article Abstract:

Youth apprenticeship demonstration programs are underway in many US states. These programs have the support of state governments, business associations, corporations and nonprofit organizations. Meanwhile, the issue has become a crucial topic in the 1992 presidential campaign, with Pres Bush and Bill Clinton both proposing worker-training measures modeled on youth apprenticeship. Their proposals differ mainly in terms of the sources of funding for the program.

Industry, Industries

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