The Long-Term Impact of Apprenticeship on the Employment Outcomes of Displaced Workers

Abstract

This study evaluates the long-term impact of registered apprenticeship on workers displaced during the Great Recession in North Carolina. Unemployment insurance claimants who enrolled in an apprenticeship program after losing their job experienced improved employment and wage-earning outcomes that lasted at least nine years. Program enrollees earned an average of $9,691 more (in 2019 dollars) than a matched comparison group of non-participants in the ninth year following job displacement. This work contributes to the evaluation literature on registered apprenticeship in the United States and provides evidence on the effectiveness of apprenticeship as a workforce intervention during economic downturns.

Keywords: apprenticeship, layoffs, reemployment, program evaluation, public policy

JEL Classification: I26, I28, J24, J63, J65, J68