Why Are Politicians Talking About Apprenticeships?
In The News Piece in Inside Higher Ed
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images
Oct. 4, 2024
Shalin Jyotishi was quoted in an Inside Higher Ed article about the rising political interest in apprenticeships as a solution to workforce shortages and a way to provide better job opportunities for those without college degrees.
During a presidential election cycle that’s involved little talk of higher ed, apprenticeships have claimed an unusual share of the spotlight.
Vice President Kamala Harris recently posted on X that she plans to double the number of registered, or federally recognized, apprenticeships, if she is elected president. The Democratic nominee also told a crowd at a September rally in Pennsylvania that “our nation needs to recognize the value of other paths, additional paths, such as apprenticeships and technical programs.”
The 2024 Democratic Party platform, meanwhile, boasts “record investments” in registered apprenticeships under the Biden administration, with a million trainees participating in them as a result. “That’s a path to the middle class that families can count on,” the platform reads.