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priority, and since 2013 the number of students in apprenticeships has grown by 100,000. Still, in
2017 only 258,000 out of almost 3 million postsecondary CTE students were in a registered
apprenticeship program.

The rewards of completing an apprenticeship can be substantial. Mathematica found that 10
years later, apprenticeship completers earned $6,500 more annually than non-completers of
similar age and demographics. A study of apprenticeship completers in Florida found that the
median annual wage in the year after completion was $48,000, much higher than first-year
earnings for recipients of an associate degree ($29,000) or a bachelor’s ($35,000).
Many of the best apprenticeship programs in the country can be found in the SREB region,
according to a 2018 American Enterprise Institute report. State apprenticeship programs
highlighted by AEI included South Carolina’s Apprenticeship Carolina and Georgia’s Worksmart.
Individual community colleges identified as leaders in apprenticeships included Central Piedmont
Community College in North Carolina and Chattanooga State Community College in Tennessee.
Although almost all SREB states have adopted a statewide work-based learning policy, states must
ensure that such policies are reviewed regularly, at least every five years. State work-based learning
policies should also include a career awareness curriculum for elementary students. Perkins V
allows federal funds to be used to support career awareness as early as fifth grade, and districts
should be encouraged by their state agency managing Perkins funds to use them in that way.

Work-Based Learning Policies in SREB States

Subsidized
Has a Employer Liability Postsecondary
State WBL for Apprenticeship
State Policy Subsidy Secondary WBL Secondary Instruction
Alabama Yes Tax credit
Arkansas Yes Tax credit Pre-Apprenticeship
Delaware Yes Yes
Florida Yes Yes
Georgia Yes Pre-Apprenticeship AND Other WBL Yes
Kentucky Yes Pre-Apprenticeship and Youth Apprenticeship Yes Yes
Louisiana Yes Tax credit Other WBL
Maryland Yes Tax credit Other WBL Yes
Mississippi
North Carolina Yes Pre-Apprenticeship
Oklahoma Yes Pre-Apprenticeship
South Carolina Yes Tax credit Pre-Apprenticeship
Tennessee Yes Tax credit Yes Yes
Texas Yes Yes Yes
Grants and tax
Virginia Yes
credit
West Virginia Yes Tax credit
Sources: Wilson, B., & Mehta, S. (2017). Work-based learning policy: 50-state scan. Washington, DC: National Skills Coalition; SREB
analysis of state work-based learning policies.

SREB Commission on Strategic Partnerships for Work-Ready Students | October 2020 13