Apprenticeships for All Ages
The playbook for finding workers hasn’t changed much. Even with the incorporation of online platforms and AI-driven software, the process has remained surprisingly static: post job openings, screen resumes, negotiate salaries, maybe throw in a signing bonus if the market’s tight. When positions stay vacant, raise pay rates or lower requirements.
There’s just one problem: this approach assumes a ready supply of qualified candidates waiting to be discovered. In today’s market, with nearly one-third of job openings going unfilled due to skills mismatches, that assumption no longer holds. Employers are not just competing with other employers for scarce talent. They are fighting over a pool that’s fundamentally too small for everyone’s needs.
Building Instead of Buying Talent
Forward thinking companies are abandoning the hunt for “purple squirrels”, those perfectly qualified candidates who often don’t exist or command premium wages. Instead, they are focusing on building their own talent pipelines through partnerships with educational institutions, internships, employee referrals, mentorships, and other structured programs.
Apprenticeships represent the most proven model for building a pipeline of candidates with skills tailored to an employer’s specific needs. In fact, apprenticeships deliver an average of $1.44 in value for every dollar invested.
Think about what that ROI really means. Apprentices produce real work from day one, contributing value while earning entry-level wages. They eliminate the revolving door of recruitment costs that drain budgets when positions cycle repeatedly. Perhaps most importantly, workers who’ve invested months or years learning within an organization are less likely to leave. Eighty-eight percent of businesses with a registered apprenticeship programs report improved employee loyalty, and 76% report reduced turnover. Apprentices have built expertise that’s specific to their employer’s operations and they appreciate the investment their employer has made in them.
The apprenticeship model has evolved far beyond its industrial roots. Today, over 3,000 occupations qualify for registered apprenticeships through the Department of Labor. From healthcare information technicians and accounting specialists to database administrators and insurance claims processors, the opportunities span industries desperate for skilled workers. More than 670,000 Americans are currently in these programs, and yet most companies haven’t seriously considered this strategy.
Why? Because they’re only thinking about half the workforce.
The Hidden Talent Pool
When you picture an apprentice, who do you see? If you’re imagining a young adult fresh out of high school or college, you’re not alone. Centuries of tradition have wired us to think of apprenticeships as programs for launching careers, not transforming them.
The numbers reflect this. Though the average apprentice age has crept up to 29, fewer than one in five participants are over 35. This represents an enormous missed opportunity, particularly as workers 55 and older have been the fastest-growing age group in the labor force for more than two decades, and will increase to 25% of the U.S. workforce by 2031
Consider who this demographic represents: professionals pivoting from shrinking industries, experienced workers seeking to future-proof their careers, mature individuals who understand exactly why skill development matters. These are motivated learners with workplace maturity, proven reliability, and often decades of transferable professional experience.
Yet most apprenticeship programs never reach them, and most experienced workers never consider apprenticeships as viable options. The disconnect costs both sides.
Why Experience Actually Accelerates Learning
One obstacle to overcoming this disconnect is the myth that older workers struggle to master new technical skills at the same pace as younger apprentices. Neuroscience has definitively answered refuted this myth: Our ability to learn does not diminish with age. Research on brain plasticity confirms that humans retain the capacity to build new neural pathways and acquire complex capabilities throughout their lives.
Beyond cognitive capacity, mid-career and older apprentices are known for a strong work ethic, reliability, and effective problem-solving. They’re less likely to view apprenticeships as temporary stepping stones to something better, which means the training investment generates returns over a longer horizon.
Four Steps to Age-Inclusive Apprenticeships
- Audit your messaging for unintentional age bias. Review apprenticeship marketing materials, website language, and promotional photos. If everything depicts young workers or uses phrases like “launch your career,” you’re signaling that experienced workers aren’t welcome. Update imagery and language to reflect the diverse workforce you actually want to attract.
- Design flexible program structures. Effective apprenticeships accommodate different life circumstances without compromising standards. Consider scheduling options for people with family responsibilities, varied teaching approaches that respect different learning backgrounds, and mentorship models that value life experience alongside technical development.
- Recruit where experienced workers search for opportunities. Partner with workforce organizations serving mid-career and older jobs seekers. Make your openness explicit with phrases like “career changers encouraged” or “experience valued.” These signal that apprenticeships aren’t age-restricted.
- Track and publicize outcomes across demographics. Measure apprentice performance, completion rates, and long-term retention by age group. When data shows that older apprentices match or exceed younger participants, as it typically does, share those findings. Evidence-based results challenge assumptions more effectively than aspirational statements about diversity.
The talent shortage most employers face isn’t inevitable. It’s the predictable outcome of strategies designed for a different labor market. Companies willing to rethink who apprenticeships serve will discover a competitive advantage hiding in plain sight: millions of capable, motivated workers whom everyone else is overlooking.
