Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship Convenes Leaders to Promote Youth Apprenticeship as an Economy Recovery Strategy

Washington, D.C. – New America’s Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA), a multi-year, collaborative initiative that expands access to high-quality apprenticeship opportunities for high school age youth, will host “Youth Apprenticeship Summit 2020: Pathways to Inclusive Economic Renewal,” a virtual conference on youth apprenticeship’s potential as a strategy for an equitable economic recovery from October 13 to October 15. Since 2018, with PAYA’s support, public-private partnerships in communities and states across the U.S. have launched strategies to start and grow youth apprenticeship programs across a range of industries, including information technology, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, finance, and education. Today the initiative has more than 45 network members and has supported the creation of hundreds of youth apprenticeship opportunities across the U.S. Over the next two years, PAYA will deepen work with existing grantees and network members and expand into new communities.

“PAYA was built to advance youth apprenticeship as a critical equity strategy that connects the learning needs of youth with the talent needs of industry,” said Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of New America. “Now, as we prepare for the next two years of PAYA, youth apprenticeship is taking on even greater importance as a strategy for promoting a more inclusive economic recovery, due to the economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 crisis – and the stark inequities the crisis has both revealed and exacerbated.” In July 2020, the overall youth unemployment rate was nearly 19%, and remained above 25% for Black youth and 22% for Latinx youth. Attendance and enrollment rates are down at high schools and colleges alike. PAYA is combating these challenges by continuing to support and expand youth apprenticeship programs that keep students connected to school and to work, and allow them to earn wages while they prepare for successful future careers.

“Youth apprenticeship, which combines paid, on-the-job work experience with no-debt college coursework, is a promising solution to address the unique challenges young adults now face. Over the next two years, PAYA will continue supporting partnerships’ efforts to innovate adapt, and expand youth apprenticeship programs; to connect their work to local, state, and federal recovery efforts; and to develop and implement strategies to ensure they are well-positioned to achieve their long-term goals for expanding youth apprenticeship,” said Taylor White, National Director of PAYA.

To date, PAYA has awarded grants to nine place-based partnerships and launched the PAYA Network to support communities’ efforts to build high-quality youth apprenticeship programs that promote inclusive economic development and create new opportunities for young people. By testing and implementing these innovations to build pipelines of skilled talent in crucial fields such as healthcare, tech, education, transportation and infrastructure, PAYA’s grantees and network members will ensure their communities emerge from this global crisis more resilient than ever.

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About 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, Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Joyce Foundation, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, Siemens Foundation and the Smidt 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.