Supporting Career and Technical Education

The American job market is changing. A high school diploma is no longer a ticket to a good job now, an increasing number of employers are offering “middle-skill jobs” that require more than a high school diploma but less than a bachelor’s degree. Industries like IT, advanced manufacturing, financial services, and health care continue to see sustained growth at all levels, and they need workers with the experience and the credentials to fill new positions. Bloomberg Philanthropies is investing in programs that help young people get the specialized training they need through internships and apprenticeships.

Bloomberg Philanthropies is piloting innovative apprenticeship programs around the country to help students obtain recognized and relevant experience and credentials. With the support of local leaders across sectors and industries, more and better opportunities are being made available. In Denver and New Orleans, for example, hundreds of students have recently completed locally organized internships or apprenticeships in insurance and other fields. And new programs in Baltimore and Delaware are training high school students in in-demand skills such as computer coding. Together, these efforts are helping to build an evidence base of effective programs that can be shared and replicated more broadly across the country.