April 8, 2025 School-Age Apprenticeships on the Rise

More students are skipping casual jobs and starting real careers through school-age apprenticeships.

by Nicholas Wyman

A growing wave of senior high school students is ditching dead-end casual jobs for more promising opportunities. They are earning while learning in real workplaces that could shape their careers—and they’re not looking back.

These students are either enrolled in a pre-apprenticeship program or already on the apprenticeship track—with many completing half their qualifications by the time they graduate high school. These programs combine school attendance with on-the-job training and technical instruction, all within a registered apprenticeship framework. As a result, the skills and competencies they develop are recognized nationally, as these youth apprenticeship programs are registered with the Department of Labor.

While there are thousands of apprenticeable occupations, youth apprenticeship programs are emerging in fields as diverse as healthcare, business administration, teacher assisting, information technology, sustainability, clean energy, and many more.

In 2021, less than 3% of all registered apprentices were aged 16 to 18 and just one in 12 youth apprentices (aged 16 to 24) were under 19 when they registered.  Anecdotally, there has been progress in engaging school-age apprentices over the past decade; however, they remain underrepresented, according to Harvard’s Project on Workforce.   

In this article, I’ll encourage employers to consider what this cohort—beyond just their youth—can bring to the workforce. In short, it’s a different learning mindset. I’ll also highlight how 16- to 18-year-olds are seizing opportunities in the clean energy sector and how a school district in Missouri has strengthened its career and technical education programs.

Bringing apprentices on board can fill skills gaps and infuse the workplace with a stronger learning culture. Their presence often prompts more experienced staff to reflect on and share their knowledge, creating a natural environment for co-learning. This mindset can be extended across teams, regardless of age or experience.

Have you ever thought of apprenticeships as gateways to building a co-learning culture in your business? They represent a training model that could spark a culture shift in your workplace.

Tapping into What They’re Familiar With

Younger generations—whether still in senior high school or just entering the workforce—are increasingly familiar with learning environments that emphasize curiosity, collaboration, and real-world problem-solving.

For example, two popular approaches are inquiry-based learning, driven by curiosity and questioning, and project-based learning, which focuses on creating real-world outcomes through structured, collaborative work—though both often overlap in practice. Inquiry-based and project-based learning are part of many school and tertiary settings, so it’s no surprise that the younger generation expects similar opportunities to learn, grow, and contribute meaningfully to the workplace.

I encourage employers to reframe their workplaces as ‘communities of practice’ or ‘sites of co-learning’ to foster a stronger sense of shared purpose and deepen employees’ commitment. I previously explored this idea in Industry Today, where I proposed the use of ‘learning pods’ in manufacturing and industrial settings.

While the concept has gained traction in healthcare, technology and software development, education, and early childhood, creative industries, emergency services, plus consulting and professional services, it might not feature in your workplace. It’s worth exploring.

Extending the Learning Mindset

Co-learning in the workplace also has practical benefits: employees naturally gain insights into each other’s roles through daily interaction. This kind of informal knowledge transfer can make it easier for workers to step into different roles or adapt to new responsibilities over time. Benefits to employers include increased adaptability, enhanced retention, improved team cohesion, and reduced downtime due to greater role flexibility. You also help future-proof your workforce through upskilling, cross-skilling and reskilling.

A common barrier is the belief that there’s no time for co-learning in fast-paced or output-driven environments. Hierarchical structures can also limit knowledge-sharing. However, small changes—like job shadowing, rotating team leads, or dedicating part of regular meetings for peer learning—can make a difference. When leaders model and value shared learning, it’s more likely to stick.

Part of the Clean-Energy Vanguard

Clean energy is a growth sector that offers significant potential to younger generations. Apprenticeable occupations include those involved in designing, deploying and maintaining clean energy infrastructure across our country in solar photovoltaic, energy storage and energy efficiency. Supply chain opportunities to unfurl from those include in manufacturing, materials and components.

For instance, in California, high school students are getting a foot in the door of the clean energy sector through programs like Climate Action Pathways (CAPS). Its pre-apprenticeship program provides students aged 16 to 18 with hands-on experience with sustainability projects while helping them build foundational skills and industry connections. These pre-apprenticeships serve as a stepping stone to more advanced registered apprenticeships, which focus on specialized roles such as sustainability specialist and energy auditor.

CAPS is set to launch these apprenticeships within weeks, creating accessible, meaningful career pathways in sustainability and addressing critical workforce needs in clean energy and environmental stewardship.

IWSI America—a nonprofit apprenticeship intermediary that I run—supported CAPS in developing its program. Through the Apprenticeships in Clean Energy (ACE) Network, we offer free advisory and consultancy services to those setting up clean energy apprenticeship programs.

A District Making Apprenticeships Work

We’ve also collaborated with the Fort Zumwalt School District based in O’Fallon, Missouri. Over just a few years, their school-age apprenticeship program has graduated more than 50 students in 20 partnering companies. These organizations include the National HealthCare Corporation (NHC), Quest Specialty Products, Merric Millwork and Seating, National Cart, Patterson Mold and Tool, Fixture Concepts Inc, Seyer Industries (a precision aerospace machining company) and AVMATS (which provides parts for Challenger, Falcon, Hawker, Gulfstream, Learjet, and Sabreliner aircraft). Under this program, students typically complete 2,000 hours of on-the-job training, part of which can occur after they graduate high school.         

Andy McHaffie, an industrial technology teacher at the school, says the program was initiated when he and his colleagues learned that the Department of Labor had made exceptions to lower the minimum age for working in hazardous occupations from 18 to 16. The condition was that the young person had to be an apprentice in a registered apprenticeship program.     

This impetus might surprise organizations and employers who have assumed that workplace health and safety laws prevent them from hiring a 16-year-old. If you’re an employer curious about what’s involved, start by connecting with your local school district or apprenticeship intermediary.

Youth apprenticeships aren’t just a stepping stone for students—they’re a smart investment for employers. As more industries look to the future, early-career talent with a co-learning mindset could be exactly what’s needed to build resilient, innovative workplaces. The challenge now is to create more opportunities for school-age apprentices to get started to ensure that businesses are ready to welcome them.                   

About the Author:
Nicholas Wyman is CEO of the Institute for Workplace Skills & Innovation America, and an internationally renowned speaker and workforce expert on applying real-world solutions to the challenges companies face in finding skilled employees. Nicholas has delivered over 500 workshops and keynote presentations to thousands of people in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, China and Australia. He has designed and implemented skills programs with Governments, Educators, Workforce Boards through to small, medium and large companies and corporations.

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