Apprentice Nation

College isn't for everyone. It's time to challenge the status quo and embrace the potential of apprenticeships in tech, healthcare, finance, and more—which can provide a sustainable pathway to economic opportunity.

For decades, college has been the only respectable way to access the world of work, despite paralyzing tuition and a dire lack of practical skills that has left 40 percent of college graduates underemployed, unfulfilled, and struggling to repay student loan debt.

Education and workforce expert Ryan Craig explores how a modern apprenticeship system will allow students and job seekers to jump-start their careers by learning while they earn—ultimately leading to greater workforce diversity and geographic mobility.

With a deep dive into the history behind America's outdated college system, Craig reveals:

• The origins of the student debt crises and admissions scandals
• Why apprenticeships are an effective pathway to career opportunity
• What America can do to catch up with other nations making apprenticeship opportunities broadly available
• Where students and job seekers can go to land an apprenticeship

Featuring a directory of US apprenticeship programs by industry and location, Apprentice Nation is an accessible blueprint for a country where young Americans of all backgrounds can launch careers in a variety of in-demand fields. With just a few common sense changes to education and workforce development, anapprentice nation will put the American Dream within reach—for everyone.

About the Author

Ryan Craig is a managing director at Achieve Partners. Ryan's commentary on where the puck is going in education and the workforce regularly appears in the biweekly Gap Letter, Forbes, and Inside Higher Education. He is the author of A New U: Faster + Cheaper Alternatives to College, which describes the critical importance of last-mile training and the emergence of boot camps, income share programs, and staffing and apprenticeship models as preferred pathways to good first digital jobs. Ryan is a cofounder of  apprenticeships for America, a national nonprofit dedicated to scaling apprenticeships across the US economy.

Dimensions: 16.03 x 3.18 x 23.5 cm