Apprenticeships, Long Common in Blue-collar Industries, Are Coming to White-collar Office Work

Brent Parton was quoted in the Washington Post on apprenticeship's transition into white-collar settings:

Some say this could encourage more businesses to start apprenticeship programs, but others fear it will only confuse them. “If I’m an employer and I’m already confused about apprenticeships, this is just going to make my head hurt more,” said New America’s Parton, who was a Labor Department adviser in the Obama administration.

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Another is that white-collar industries don’t have the “connective tissue” that unions provide in the blue-collar sector, training workers for multiple employers, Parton said.
“We rely on each individual employer to run their own program,” he said, an inefficient process that has kept some companies on the sidelines. Others may be hesitant to work with competitors on building a common talent pool.

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But that sentiment could be changing. A newly released survey by New America found that 88 percent of Americans had a favorable view of apprenticeship and 83 percent said they support increased government funding for them. “To see such strong support across both Democrats and Republicans was something everyone was surprised by,” Parton said.