Comparing the Impact of Traditional and Cooperative Apprenticeship Programs on Graduates' Industry Success

Calls for national educational reform over the past 2 decades have strongly criticized the ability of the current system to prepare students to be successful in our nations high tech workforce. A prudent approach to reform would require searching for successful models currently existing before undertaking a wholesale overhaul of the educational system. Evidence exists that the cooperative apprenticeship model that has been implemented nationally by the automotive industry over the past 15 years at over 500 sites produces improved outcomes worthy of emulation. This study compared the industry success of graduates from both traditional campus-based programs and cooperative apprenticeship programs 3 years after graduation. The results indicated that cooperative apprenticeship program participants had higher related employment rates, annual income, career advancement, and satisfaction with industry preparedness than graduates of traditional campus-based programs.