Announcing the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship Grantees and PAYA Network

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 29, 2019 – The Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA), a multi-stakeholder initiative led by New America, has awarded nine grants today in the first joint philanthropic investment to expand youth apprenticeship in the United States. These grants will support place-based partnerships of employers, educators, community partners, and policy leaders who are working together to build high-quality youth apprenticeship programs that promote inclusive economic development and create new opportunities for young people.

Selected from an extremely competitive pool of over 220 applicants from 49 states and Puerto Rico, the grantees will launch and expand high-quality youth apprenticeship programs in multiple cities, regions, and states, and in a range of industries. The grantee recipients are:

• Apprenticeship 502 (Louisville, KY)
• ApprenticeshipNC (Raleigh, NC)
• The Birmingham Promise (Birmingham, AL)
• Career Launch Chicago (Chicago, IL)
• Early Care and Education Youth Apprenticeship (Oakland, CA)
• King County Regional Youth Apprenticeship Consortium (Renton, WA)
• Montana Youth Apprenticeship Partnership (Helena, MT)
• Texas Youth Apprenticeship Program (Austin, TX)
• PPL Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP) Initiative (Minneapolis, MN)

Grant funding will support sites’ strategy development and implementation activities over a 17-month period, beginning in May 2019. During this period, grantees will engage in cross-site learning and receive tailored technical assistance from PAYA National Partner organizations and other leading experts in the education, workforce, and policy sectors.

Grantees will also join the newly-formed PAYA Network, a national learning community designed to link high-potential, dynamic partnerships working across the country to launch, expand, and improve apprenticeship opportunities for high school-aged youth. The PAYA Network was formed to recognize, support, and connect high-potential leaders identified through the PAYA Grant Initiative, and to support them as they work to build the emerging field of youth apprenticeship. To these ends, PAYA will resource network members to organize and host a range of activities, including national workgroups and in-person gatherings, and to elevate their impact on the students and employers in their communities. To learn more about the PAYA Network members click here.

“New America is thrilled to support this network of innovators working to restore the link between education, employment, and economic mobility through youth apprenticeship,” said Anne-Marie Slaughter, president and CEO of New America. “It’s clear from the size and diversity of our applicant pool that communities of all sizes see youth apprenticeship as a transformative strategy for better connecting the learning needs of youth with the talent needs of industry. The PAYA Network is leading the way and, as they learn from one another, PAYA is ensuring these locally-developed solutions can be shared and adapted to expand high-quality youth apprenticeship opportunities in more communities across the U.S.”

Youth apprenticeship transforms how the nation’s education system prepares young people to enter careers and launches them into a successful adulthood through mutually beneficial partnerships across schools, industry, and communities. These partnerships create opportunities for youth apprentices to finish high school, start their postsecondary education at little-to-no cost, complete paid work experience alongside a mentor, and start along a path that broadens their options for the future.

For employers, youth apprenticeship is a cost-effective talent strategy, as apprentices build skills to meet evolving business needs and develop into valued contributors to their bottom line.

To learn more about the PAYA Grant Initiative applicant pool, click here. To learn more about the PAYA Grantees and Network, click here or visit newamerica.org/paya. And stay connected to the initiative’s progress by following the #PAYA hashtag on Twitter at @NewAmericaEd.

About the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA):

Created by New America, the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA) is a multi-year, multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to assist innovative organizations around the country in developing robust youth apprenticeship programs that are scaled and replicated to serve students, employers and communities alike. PAYA is comprised of eight National Partner organizations: Advance CTE, CareerWise Colorado, Charleston Regional Youth Apprenticeship, Education Strategy Group, JFF, the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity, the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, and the National Governors Association. PAYA is supported by funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Ballmer Group, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Joyce Foundation, JP Morgan Chase & Co., and the Siemens Foundation.

About New America:

New America is dedicated to renewing America by continuing the quest to realize our nation's highest ideals, honestly confronting the challenges caused by rapid technological and social change and seizing the opportunities those changes create.