A School District and ‘Promise’ Program Launching into Youth Apprenticeship

Young people are often told that a traditional bachelor’s degree is the only pathway to success. But many young people–and even college promise programs–are realizing that may not be the case. College promise programs, which are scholarships that typically cover college tuition and fees at postsecondary institutions, and are a common strategy to boost college enrollment, are increasingly recognizing that a degree alone may not be enough to provide economic security for young adults. In recognizing the need to create viable and progressive career pathways for all students, the Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS) launched a new work-based learning initiative, Career Launch Kalamazoo (CLK),  and partnered with The Kalamazoo Promise, Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC), the City of Kalamazoo, local businesses and community partners to expand work-based learning in the region to create more postsecondary pathways to economic success and stability. For the Kalamazoo Promise, the nation's longest operating college promise program, the changing workforce landscape in western Michigan can benefit from youth apprenticeships as a workforce development strategy to address the number of unfilled jobs and high youth unemployment. With support from New America’s Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship, CLK will launch its pilot youth apprenticeship program in Fall 2022.

The Why and How of Youth Apprenticeship in Kalamazoo

Youth apprenticeship programs combine classroom training and paid work-based learning opportunities, and allow students to gain valuable credentials and work experience, without having to delay or forgo postsecondary education. In Kalamazoo, eligible students will start the pilot program in their senior year or right after graduation, taking courses at their local high school and KVCC where their tuition and mandatory fees will be covered by The Kalamazoo Promise scholarship dollars. Meanwhile they’ll be working part-time at one of six inaugural employer partners working in information technology, health care, skilled trades, manufacturing, business services, and education. In the summer, CLK Youth Apprentices will attend a two-day Aspiring Apprentice Academy where they will learn employability, self-management, and 21st Century Skills as they learn about the culture and environment of the workplace, and what it takes to progress in their careers. As employees at these businesses, CLK’s youth apprentices will earn sustainable living wages for their time, learn specific skills and competencies while on the job, and simultaneously have the opportunity to earn stackable credentials, certification, and degrees through occupational studies and other pathway programs identified by KVCC. Throughout the program, youth apprentices will have access to many supports and networks offered by KPS, The Kalamazoo Promise, KVCC, their employers, and the Kalamazoo community.

At the end of the program, some apprentices may choose to work-full time, others may enroll full-time in degree programs by leveraging their Promise scholarship, and many will balance a mix of both options. An advantage to CLK’s model is that eligible students who complete the youth apprenticeship will be able to access The Kalamazoo Promise scholarship for up to 10 years after high school graduation, so they have time to explore career options and return to college to advance in their fields if they choose to do so in the future. According to Tracy Miller, the Coordinator of Postsecondary Pathways, Instruction, and Student Services at Kalamazoo Public Schools, “Students can pursue both. They can earn technical certifications and credentials through apprenticeships or career technical education programs, pursue a job, and still have time within the 10-year period to use the Promise to gain stackable credentials. Our economy, and current and future workforce, and labor market requires diverse talent and high-skill sets, leadership abilities, innovative thinking, and complex problem solving. It’s our goal to ensure that KPS students are academic, career, work, life, and future ready.”

The Kalamazoo Promise is excited to partner with KPS and KVCC to offer students another great postsecondary pathway that encourages students to progressively build toward postsecondary and career success over the 10 years of their Promise Eligibility. While it remains to be seen how many youth apprentices take advantage of this unique benefit, Sarah Klerk, the Senior Director of Organizational Strategy and Workforce Innovation at The Kalamazoo Promise, predicts that students who go on to pursue a bachelor’s degree after completing a youth apprenticeship will have more relevant experience and knowledge upon starting their degree, which may increase degree completion and scholars obtaining careers in their chosen industries, all objectives at the heart of the Promise’s mission.

But whether or not youth apprentices eventually return to complete bachelor’s degrees, the apprenticeship program will put them in a position to land good jobs in growing sectors critical to Kalamazoo’s economy and a thriving, educated, and skilled workforce community—jobs that are often filled by people who live outside the city limits. “Youth apprenticeships can promote homegrown talent and help a community rise from poverty,” says Tracy Miller.

Successes and Learnings

Partnerships are at the core of any successful youth apprenticeship, and CLK has found success working with employer, education, and community partners to meet the needs of young people. They’ve also found success working with students, by supporting them in their exploration of education and training pathways and by coaching them to transition into the workplace with a strong sense of self. Of course, developing a successful youth apprenticeship program is a complex process that involves many moving parts and alignment of systems, which often presents opportunities for new learning.

Since youth apprenticeship is new to Kalamazoo, CLK has been highly intentional about learning how to make the case for youth apprenticeship, through both defining youth apprenticeship and explaining how the value and goals of youth apprenticeship align with The Kalamazoo Promise and KPS. CLK has made sure to include parents and families as vital stakeholders in their case-making process, “...research shows that parents are the number one influencer of career choice and career decisions. So, we are having intentional conversations, opportunities, activities, and events with parents, so they can begin understanding these other careers that are out there for their child are just as viable.” Through these exciting successes and learning opportunities Kalamazoo has served as just one example of how promise programs can expand their scope beyond traditional college degree programs.

Other Promise Programs Branching Out into YA

CLK is not the only Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship Network site developing a youth apprenticeship out of a promise scholarship program. The Birmingham Promise and CareerWise Greater Buffalo are both College Promise programs looking to reimagine education and workforce systems with an emphasis on equity, through offering youth apprenticeships as a new postsecondary pathway within their communities. While it is early days for all these programs, their expansion is a reminder that the workforce landscape is changing across the nation and that youth across our nation need to be provided with more pathways to success.

What’s Next?

While there is much to be learned about how youth apprenticeship can help meet promise programs’ big picture goals for promoting equitable economic growth, CLK and similar programs can help pave the way for other promise programs to branch out into new work-based learning initiatives. Miller keeps this in mind as she pushes this work forward in her district and community, “The world is changing, mindsets are changing, the future careers that our students will have to prepare for are changing, labor market trends are changing, and our economy is changing. Changing work systems require a change in direction, strategies, and solutions that impact leadership, policies, programs, people, culture, and decision-making. What was once considered the only way to achieve the ‘American Dream’ is changing.”

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