Beyond ‘The Apprentice’: Why the U.S. needs a thriving apprenticeship system

By Valerie Strauss, Washington Post

Apprenticeship People silhouette

If you hear the word “apprentice,” you may well think of Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” television show, where he famously told people they were fired, or have a flashback to learning in school about “apprenticeships” in the Middle Ages, when young people would learn a trade at the foot of skilled craftsmen (while providing virtually free labor for years).

Well, apprenticeships never died. In Germany today, for example, 60 percent of high school students spend half of their school time doing academic work and the other half getting hands-on training at a company. Other countries, too, have successful apprenticeship programs that successfully keep young people working.

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