Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the impact of the Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship program on education outcomes.
- The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of students who participated in the youth apprenticeship program to students who did not. Using administrative student data, the authors conducted statistical tests to compare the outcomes between the groups.
- The study found no significant relationship between the Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship program and the likelihood of continued education or employment in the field of study.
- This study received a low evidence rating. This means we are not confident that any estimated effects would be attributable to the Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship program; other factors would have likely contributed. However, the study did not find any statistically significant effects.
Intervention Examined
Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship
Features of the Intervention
The Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship program was a statewide initiative designed to provide hands on occupational training to juniors and seniors in high school. The apprenticeship program was based on the Wisconsin Career Pathways model and combines supervised on-the-job training with 180 hours of relevant technical instruction per year. Students complete a minimum of 450 hours per year in paid employment. The program uses industry-developed occupational skill standards and qualified mentors to train the students. It also provides a state-issued skills certificate.
Features of the Study
The study used a nonexperimental design to examine the impact of the Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship program on education outcomes. The authors explored differences between concentrator-completers who took part in a youth apprenticeship program to concentrator-completers who earned an employability skills certificate. Concentrator-completers were defined as individuals who, as high school junior or senior, identified a career pathway and completed three career and technical education courses before graduation. Concentrator-completers were identified through 2014 concentrator follow-up reports by the school districts and grouped into those who completed a youth apprenticeship program (treatment) and those who completed the employability skills certificate (comparison).
The study sample included 627 students from across 28 school districts in Wisconsin’s Cooperative Education Service Area (CESA) 5 region. There were 46 students in the treatment group and 577 students in the comparison group. Four students completed both the youth apprenticeship program and the employability skills certificate and were excluded from the analyses. The authors did not provide any demographic information about the study sample. Data were collected through the Career and Technical Education Reporting Systems (CTEERS) and a post-graduation follow-up survey (administered at 8 to 10 months post-graduation). The authors used statistical tests to compare differences in the outcomes between treatment and comparison group members.
Findings
Education and skill gains
- The study found no statistically significant relationship between participation in a Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship program and the likelihood of continuing education or employment in the field of study.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The authors did provide information about the study groups prior to their participation in the program. Without knowing the composition of the groups in age, race/ethnicity, gender, and education history, it is not clear whether the groups were similar before the introduction of the program. Therefore, the study is not eligible for a moderate causal evidence rating, the highest rating available for nonexperimental designs.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the authors did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are not confident that any estimated effects would be attributable to Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship program; other factors would have likely contributed. However, the study did not find any statistically significant effects.