The Grants Resource Center, by Graeff, Frank

A new report released by a federal task force earlier this month calls out higher education for failing to prepare students for the workforce, and recommends a new system be created to provide an alternative to colleges and universities for career seekers .​ “The American higher education system is churning out a pool of in-debt job seekers who are not equipped to meet the skills needs of many employers in the modern American economy,” said the report from the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion. As such, the task force recommended developing new Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAP) that would serve as an alternative pathway to careers not necessarily involving the traditional education system.

Although details are scant at this point, the report imagines an IRAP system built around third-party certifiers, a role that seems set up to be filled by industry associations, with various industries creating standards and systems relevant to their needs. The report does ask for “institutions of higher education (IHE), other service providers, and employers to partner in planning for and building needed capacity” in the program, and elsewhere suggests that there should be a conversation between IHEs and IRAP certifiers, allowing students to receive college credit for certain IRAP courses and vice-versa. That being said, the report actively suggests apprenticeships as an alternative to traditional education, including community colleges, stating “Higher education, however, is a narrow path that is not working for enough young people, in part because it is becoming increasingly unaffordable and no longer guarantees a middle-class income.”

Many questions remain, including whether IRAPs will be receiving federal funding, and if that funding would come at the expense of existing federal workforce-development programs. In the coming weeks, the U.S. Department of Labor is expected to publish a guidance document to more clearly spell out how the IRAP would work.
To read the official report, click here (PDF). To read a summary of the conclusions, click here. To read about the higher-education response to the report, click here.