Apprenticeship, Work-Based Learning, and Worker Advancement

My thoughts on AI

I recognize that generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude are changing how we work, especially entry-level work. How do we want that change to look? Businesses can eliminate jobs, change jobs, start to work on harder problems, or do a combination of things. Long-term, I think aspects of many (if not most) jobs will have a "Human-in-the-Loop" dimension, where we direct and evaluate the work of the AI agent, which will in turn improve the work of the AI agent.

This new role as architect of AI tools makes critical thinking skills even more important. The increased importance of critical thinking, arguably, makes work-based learning models even more relevant. Why? Because while in practice an entry-level role may be automated by AI, people just entering the field still need to learn the substance of that work (even if routine) to better be able to guide the AI tools. Learning the substance is essential because workers usually develop some of their critical thinking and assessment skills while doing entry-level work and learning how the pieces fit together.

In my time leading studies on the topic, I have learned that partnering with businesses to create these opportunities is an ongoing effort (see My work below) and worker advancement depends on a variety of factors. Moreover, designers of work-based learning opportunities could ask: How, if at all, should the AI dimension be incorporated into the lessons?

My work

I have led several studies focused on apprenticeship and worker advancement, including a case-study of Columbia College's Hospitality Apprenticeship Program, a labor-management run Care Navigator Apprenticeship Program, and a mixed-methods study of newly created CAI apprenticeship programs. A common thread across these studies is that effective worker advancement depends on a combination of factors:

1) Supportive supervisors & mentors that nurture growth

In the worker advancement study, nearly all employer respondents identified supervisors as a critical factor in helping frontline workers advance — well-positioned to encourage, inspire, and teach. Employers reported supporting supervisors through training on career pathways and mentoring.

Employer staff who served as apprentice mentors played a key role in CAI success. Surveyed apprentices reported that mentors helped them apply skills in work settings, shared practical insights, and passed on institutional knowledge. Some apprentices suggested that mentors needed more training and suggested "establish[ing] mentorship guidelines."
Care Navigator OJT mentors shadowed apprentices before they worked independently and continued providing guidance throughout the program. Apprentices valued how mentors provided guidance about work tasks and shared wisdom from years in the field.

2) The availability of supportive services (e.g. tuition assistance)

Employer respondents identified workplace supports — such as childcare subsidies, transportation assistance, and on-site resource coordinators — as a critical component of a comprehensive advancement strategy.

CAI grant funds covered hospitality management apprentices' tuition at Columbia College, removing a key financial barrier. Apprentices specifically cited receiving a tuition-free college education while being paid as a valued benefit of the program.
Some employers also provided paid time off for training and adjusted scheduling to accommodate family responsibilities.

3) Help navigating career plans & clearly documented pathways

Effective pathway practices included clearly documenting advancement pathways and the criteria used to assess promotion, communicating that information to frontline workers, and in some cases employing dedicated career navigators.

Integrating college certificates and industry certifications into CAI apprenticeship programs was valuable because apprentices' skills became more portable. Overall, 82% of surveyed apprentices rated their programs as helpful or very helpful in preparing them for work.
The Hospitality apprenticeship program was designed to provide several credential pathways: apprenticeship completion certificate, college certificate, and an Associate of Science degree. Apprentices believed these credentials, combined with broad work experience, would help them gain promotions or find better jobs.
Apprentices from the first Care Navigator cohort advanced to journey-level status and transitioned into peer coach roles for the second cohort, creating a visible career ladder within the program itself.

4) Training, education, and available time to pursue them

CAI apprenticeship programs combined classroom training with OJT. Surveyed apprentices consistently valued the combination because classroom instruction provided the "why" behind tasks, while OJT provided real-world application.

Eighty-two percent of surveyed apprentices rated their programs as helpful or very helpful in preparing them for work.
Hospitality Management apprentices spent one day per week in classroom instruction and four days in OJT across rotating hospitality departments. Focus group participants noted a preference for tighter sequencing of classroom and on-the-job components.

Two factors not explicitly explored in these studies, but relevant to the bigger picture of worker advancement are:

1) Job quality

Peoples’ job aspirations are also a function of job quality. Job quality dimensions confirmed by recent efforts are: compensation, worker protections, supportive work environment, and mechanisms for collecting and listening to worker perspectives. These recent efforts include several job quality frameworks created by the Aspen Institute, the Urban Institute, and the National Fund for Workforce Solutions (now ShiftWorkForward) and a 2025 job quality survey of workers by Jobs for the Future and its partners. These contributions help articulate the variation in workers' perceptions of job quality and how to measure it.

2) Social Context

People's job quality and aspirations are also influenced by macro-level factors such as the extent to which front-line workers have influence on decisions that impact job quality and the relative pay scales within their company (e.g., what is the ratio between the highest-paid and lowest-paid workers). Other macro factors include the affordability and availability of childcare and how easy it is to get to work by public transportation.

Across these studies, reported effective employer engagement strategies include:

1) Persistent industry networking by program leaders, such as attending local chamber of commerce events

CAI grantee project managers found that networking was not isolated to the grant initiative, rather it was ongoing and part of their organizations' overall employer outreach strategies, including attending existing events such as college industry advisory committee meetings.
Columbia College hospitality management apprenticeship program staff and leadership indicated that developing and maintaining a network of contacts in the local business community was and continues to be an effective strategy for identifying employer partners, including ongoing face-to-face networking at local business events such as chamber of commerce meetings.

2) Hosting employer forums, to learn about local needs and share information about work-based learning initiatives.

CAI grantee staff consistently reported that hosting employer forums to discuss apprenticeship was identified as a successful strategy for identifying and engaging employer partners. For example, about 2 years prior to winning a CAI grant, Columbia College hosted its first hospitality advisory board meeting, attended by over 60 people. The event provided staff with many opportunities for networking with hospitality industry employers. Similarly, the Care Navigator staff held several employer convenings to learn about health care employers' labor force needs and to determine whether the apprenticeship model could meet them. California and federal government representatives attended these convenings to explain the apprenticeship model and hear employer feedback directly.

3) Listening for demand, that is identifying concrete workforce problems at an employer, rather than pitching apprenticeship as a general good.

CAI program managers consistently expressed this sentiment. For example, each Hospitality Management apprenticeship employer partner had a distinct workforce challenge that the apprenticeship addressed. One needed a pathway for incumbent worker advancement, while the other needed help recruiting qualified candidates it couldn't reach through its own HR channels. The Care Navigator apprenticeship program supported several health clinics in the region that had a need for care navigators, a newly emerging role with no established training pipeline.

4) Hiring employer engagement staff with industry specific experience because they already have professional connections to industry and employer representatives.

Many CAI supported apprenticeship programs had staff and leaders with deep industry knowledge, extensive professional networks, and effective communication skills. In the absence of such staff, grantees engaged a labor market intermediary with industry expertise.