Rural Youth Catalyst seeking information to create a national map of rural apprenticeship programs.
Do you offer any type of apprenticeship program in rural communities or Native Nations? You are exactly who Rural Youth Catalyst wants to hear from in a new national survey.
Work Based Learning (integrating academic learning with real-world experience) is a vital component of connecting rural residents to career pathways across adulthood. But, if you work in the fields of rural education, workforce, and economic development, you know that, despite the hype, work-based learning and especially apprenticeship opportunities are few and far between for your hometown or Native Nation.
For all the millions of dollars being invested in the development of registered apprenticeships as the employment solution, rural has not benefited enough. The characteristics that make places rural—sparse populations, economies made up of many small employers, few knowledgeable, resourced intermediaries, transportation challenges make cookie cutter programs difficult to implement.
Despite the obstacles, we know there are organizations and communities that are creating a range of rural apprenticeship opportunities successfully.
Rural Youth Catalyst has teamed up with Jobs for the Future (JFF) to create a landscape analysis of what is happening in, and across, the rural apprenticeship space (youth apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, as well as registered apprenticeship).
We want to hear from you! Are you offering a youth apprenticeship? Pre-apprenticeship? Registered Apprenticeship? Or creating work-based learning opportunities and you would like to include apprenticeship?
Big or small, at scale or piloting, statewide or local, for 16-year old’s or 80-year old’s: if you offer any type of apprenticeship program in rural communities or Native Nations — you are exactly who we want to hear from.
We are also looking for strategies for connecting with rural employers as well as diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) strategies used to reach and connect with populations under-represented across the apprenticeship pipeline including race/culture, gender, LGBTQA+, individuals with disabilities, opportunity youth, re-entry, etc. as other best practices that should be shared with the field.
We have developed the National Rural Apprenticeship Landscape Survey to help us learn more about apprenticeship programs in rural places across America. Our goal is to create an interactive map that will share information about the range of rural apprenticeship programs and where they are located, available to everyone. We hope you will take the time to fill out the National Rural Apprenticeship Landscape Survey to get your program on the map!
Rural Youth Catalyst is a partner of the Rural Assembly. Working nationally, Rural Youth Catalyst aims to strengthen existing and create new opportunities that allow rural and Native youth to realize their hopes and dreams while remaining in or returning to their communities.
