Introduction

Mayors play a crucial role in helping people attain the education and skills necessary to enter the workforce and climb the economic ladder. While many American cities are thriving today, they are also home to rising levels of economic inequality, driven in part by the difficulty non-college-educated workers face in securing family-sustaining jobs. Fifty years ago, urban and metropolitan workers without a college degree could secure well-paying, middle-skill jobs that were not available in suburban and rural labor markets. But by 2015, cities no longer provided an abundance of middle-skill jobs for workers without postsecondary education and training.¹ This change in the nature and availability of urban jobs has pushed more workers into low-wage work, increased occupational polarization in metropolitan areas, and contributed to growing inequality.

Mayors have a tool for tackling this problem that many have not fully utilized: apprenticeship, a proven training and employment model that helps employers build a qualified workforce and provides workers with affordable pathways to careers. City leaders have a number of levers for expanding the use of apprenticeship by employers who do business with the city and by the many public and nonprofit agencies that deliver city services. In fact, increasing the supply of apprenticeships that can prepare residents for family-sustaining jobs in construction, renewable energy, information technology, healthcare, social services, and even public administration, is an inclusive growth strategy available to mayors in every city in America.