What to Know About DOL’s New Pre-Apprenticeship Guidance
DOL’s new guidance offers a practical framework for quality pre-apprenticeship, but overlooks key equity considerations.
Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship
A project of Center on Education & Labor
Expanding youth apprenticeship is a strategy for building a more inclusive economy by connecting the learning needs of students with the talent needs of industry. The Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA) is a multi-year, collaborative initiative that supports states and cities in their efforts to expand access to high-quality apprenticeship opportunities as a mainstream postsecondary option for high school-age youth.
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The Partnership convenes and mobilizes the expertise, experience, and collective networks of national, state, and regional partners to:
- Support place-based partnerships to increase the number of youth apprenticeship programs aligned with PAYA’s Definition & Principles for High-Quality Youth Apprenticeship;
- Facilitate learning, innovation, and wide-scale adoption of best practices through the PAYA Network, a learning community of over 90 place-based partnerships; and
- Strengthen the case and evidence base for youth apprenticeship to raise awareness and to mobilize policy, action and investment.
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Announcing the 2026-2027 PAYA Youth Council
Four Partnerships Selected for Inaugural PAYA Innovation Grants
Making the Case for Youth Apprenticeship: The Appeal to Gen Z
Gender Equity in High-Quality Youth Apprenticeship: A Deeper Dive into the PAYA Data
Experts
Taylor White
Director, Postsecondary Pathways for Youth
Erica Simon
Deputy Director, Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship
Alexandra Simon
Senior Policy Analyst, Center on Education & Labor
Ivy Sullivan
Manager, Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship
Lindsey Phillips
Senior Policy Manager, Postsecondary Pathways for Youth
Lancy Downs
Senior Policy Analyst, Center on Education & Labor
Maegan Godoy
Project Coordinator Youth Apprentice