The Thread

This post outlines a shift from time-based apprenticeships to a value-based model centered on skills and outcomes. It details three core strategies—Credit for Prior Learning, stackable credentials, and Competency-Based Education—with practical implementation tips to reduce redundancy, improve flexibility, and guarantee job readiness.

The post argues that early childhood apprenticeships are a practical solution to the child care staffing crisis, addressing low wages, burnout, and licensing barriers through paid, mentored, competency-based training. Strong programs blend supervised classroom practice, RTI aligned to CDA or state requirements, mentorship, safety training, and clear career pathways, stabilizing providers and enhancing quality for families and communities.

This post explains how districts can braid Perkins V and WIOA funds to strengthen both classroom instruction and work-based learning within apprenticeship-aligned CTE pathways. By mapping existing courses to apprenticeship competencies, leveraging workforce dollars for OJL, and partnering with local workforce boards, schools can scale sustainable pathways without creating new programs.

American agriculture faces aging producers and labor shortages as precision technologies reshape daily operations. Apprenticeships provide paid, hands-on pathways that pair traditional farm experience with emerging AgTech skills like drones, IoT sensors, and GPS-guided machinery. Partnerships across 4-H, colleges, and USDA programs enable high-quality training, while Craft’s free platform simplifies compliant data and competency management for rural sponsors.

The policy landscape for short-term workforce training changed again this week. According to a fresh recap from the American Council on Education (ACE), negotiations this week on Capitol Hill between lawmakers and the U.S. Department of Education could fundamentally reshape how short-term Workforce Pell works, and which programs would qualify.

This post demystifies RTI in Registered Apprenticeships, clarifying federal expectations and the commonly cited 144-hour guidance. It shows where sponsors can find education partners, how to vet curriculum and delivery, and how to manage RTI with MOUs and shared tracking. It closes with how Craft centralizes RTI and OJL data to simplify reporting and keep programs aligned with real job skills.