Nearly 70 percent of public school students in Louisiana are considered economically disadvantaged. These young people may receive government assistance, are English language learners, are unhoused, or face other barriers to achieving economic mobility. To increase the number of quality career education opportunities, the state of Louisiana has taken steps to incentivize schools, through accountability changes, and employers, through tax credits, to actively create more internships and work-based learning opportunities to connect students to quality jobs. 

One nonprofit based in the greater New Orleans metro area, YouthForce NOLA, capitalized on this recent accountability policy change to pursue a vision for system change—what if all high schoolers had the opportunity to access a youth apprenticeship program? After receiving overwhelming interest from local high school students who wanted an earn-and-learn pathway into the health care sector, they decided to act. After securing a U.S. Department of Labor Apprenticeships Building America grant, YouthForce NOLA was able to fund apprenticeships to grow a three-year Licensed Practical Nursing youth apprenticeship program at New Orleans Career Center (NOCC), the city’s hub for high-quality technical education and training.

Their concentrated effort to coordinate with high schools, local employers, and government agencies has connected about 200 students each year to meaningful, paid work-based learning programs that have been proven to promote economic mobility. 

Complex Collaboration with High Schools

Because New Orleans has a decentralized system of public charter schools, YouthForce NOLA faced unique challenges for creating system-wide access to their work-based learning programs. There are 26 high schools in New Orleans, and the vast majority of them serve as their own individual local education agencies. Over time, YouthForce NOLA gathered built buy-in and developed individual agreements with 100 percent of the local high schools. This ensures all 15,000 public school students in New Orleans have access to career-connected learning opportunities including paid internships and apprenticeships.

While going school to school to set up their programs, the YouthForce NOLA team also established a teacher training fellowship called “Soft Skills 360.” This cohort of teachers are coached on how to incorporate work-ready skills development in all courses, not just during the related technical instruction classes for an apprenticeship program. This approach ensures that all high schoolers in the city, regardless of if they are an apprentice, can develop the in-demand skills that employers look for when hiring entry-level talent. 

A Running Start into Health Care

NOCC developed a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) high school apprenticeship program, in partnership with Delgado Community College Charity School of Nursing and regional health system Ochsner Health as a three-year earn-and-learn pathway. Sixteen young people are currently enrolled in the program, and just under 90 percent of the apprentices are economically disadvantaged high schoolers or out-of-school youth. 

The cornerstone of the LPN apprenticeship program is the weekly schedule. Students split each day between their high school and NOCC or Ochsner Health. They spend half the day  at their high school taking courses for their diploma and then travel by bus to the NOCC to take health care-specific classes or to Ochsner Health to get hands-on experience in a clinical setting. Throughout their program, these prospective LPNs learn how to administer basic medications, assist with patient care, and support physicians in a hospital environment. 

Since the program is three years long and LPN students start in their junior year of high school, NOCC can utilize a relatively new initiative funded by the Louisiana Department of Education called Extension Academies to ensure students can complete the program in high school. These academies offer an additional “fifth year” of publicly-funded high school for qualifying students to earn credentials of value, enter or finish an apprenticeship, and receive other supportive services like postsecondary transitional coaching. This extra year of support is a critical component of ensuring students have the time and support they need to complete their LPN apprenticeship. 

What’s Next?

NOCC LPN graduates can expect to make starting wages of approximately $30 an hour or $62,000 a year, well above the median income in Louisiana. Apprentices leave the LPN program with a variety of options for the next step in their education or career path. Program graduates hold their high school diploma and three credentials of value. They are also well prepared to take their licensing exams, then potentially specialize in a chosen field, such as geriatric care or pediatrics. If they are interested in continuing their education, they are well positioned to enter a degree program, or take advantage of Ochsner Health’s tuition reimbursement program at Chamberlain University to become registered nurses. Students can also apply to enter another apprenticeship program in the healthcare sector. 

“Since its inception, Ochsner has worked with YouthForce NOLA to build a strong pipeline of talent to fill our hospital system’s critical workforce needs,” said Missy Hopson, PhD, Senior Vice President and Chief Learning & Workforce Development Officer at Oschsner Health. “These pipelines of ready-to-hire workers support our efforts to make a healthier South Louisiana.”

The concentrated efforts of YouthForce NOLA to coordinate with high schools, higher education, and the hospital system serves as an aspirational case study for other city-based organizations looking to create streamlined apprenticeship opportunities into the healthcare sector for high schoolers.