Back as recently as the Obama years, getting a four-year college degree (in anything!) was the big thing. That was real “attainment.” Community colleges and apprenticeship programs were looked down on.
That’s been changing. First, the bloom is off the rose concerning four-year degrees, as many now see them as over-priced exercises in political indoctrination. Second, more apprenticeship programs are being created, offering students useful work and study leading to good employment.
In today’s Martin Center article, Ashlynn Warta writes about the successful apprenticeship program in North Carolina.
She writes, “The experience gained in an apprenticeship program gives students a leg up when they are entering the workforce. ANC director Chris Harrington put it well when he asked, at this year’s ApprenticeshipNC conference, ‘What do employers want? Basic employment skills, industry specific skills, company specific skills, and a growth mindset. What do all those have in common? They’re hard to acquire in a classroom.’”
As Charles Murray observed in his book Real Education, the BA was being oversold by politicians and educational interest groups. We’re starting to undo that mistake and apprenticeship programs are a needed step.