Apprenticeship and College: Complementary Approaches to Youth Education and Training
Apprenticeship training and college are often considered substitutes for each other, when they in fact work best as complements. This research and practice summary analyzes administrative apprenticeship data to better understand how colleges have engaged with the apprenticeship system, and the experiences of apprentices in college-sponsored apprenticeship programs.
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Apprenticeship training and college are often considered substitutes for each other, when they in fact work best as complements. This research and practice summary analyzes administrative apprenticeship data to better understand how colleges have engaged with the apprenticeship system, and the experiences of apprentices in college-sponsored apprenticeship programs.
Grantmaking and Partnerships
Led by a cross-sector Leadership Board that is ideologically diverse and representative of often-siloed groups, WorkRise invests in research on policies, programs, and practices that have the potential to accelerate economic security and mobility for low-wage workers. We fund analyses and the creation of data that shed light on labor market barriers, trends, and opportunities. And we engage in strategic partnerships that help advance evidence-based solutions in support of our mission. Learn more about our most recent request for proposals and how you can collaborate with WorkRise.
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Economic context, Care work, Scheduling
Feature
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Segregation in the Low-Wage Workforce
Over the past 50 years, the composition of the low-wage workforce has changed: more than half of low-wage workers are now people of color, up from just 20 percent in 1971. Today, Black, Latino, and women workers are more likely to be segregated into worse-quality and lower-paying jobs.
WorkRise Research
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Skills and training, Energy transition
Last updated on March 31, 2025
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What High-Quality Local Jobs Are Available as Fossil Fuel Work Disappears?
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Employer practices, Workers in the South
Last updated on March 04, 2025
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What Works to Reduce Workers Changing Jobs in US Manufacturing
More than half of US manufacturing employers say their biggest challenge is recruiting and retaining skilled workers. What affects whether manufacturing workers want to leave their jobs? Research shows that their opinions on their jobs, their workplaces, and how their jobs impact their home lives may play an important role.

Social determinants of work, Immigrant workers
Last updated on February 24, 2025
Article
Mass Deportations Would Worsen Our Housing Crisis
Mass deportations would reduce the construction labor force, which is highly dependent on immigrant workers, exacerbating the US housing crisis—but some states are more at risk than others.
Last updated on February 24, 2025

Skills and training, Support during upskilling
Last updated on February 18, 2025
Research Summary
Incumbent Worker Training Programs Could Bolster the Workforce
Companies increased revenue, grew their workforces, and built training pathways through a state-based incumbent worker training program, researchers found.
Research
Employer practices, Young workers, Support during upskilling
Last updated on December 04, 2024
Advancing Economic Mobility in Manufacturing
In today’s labor market, manufacturers, like many employers, recognize that recruiting and retaining workers often means rethinking diversity considerations and identifying new talent pools.
Last updated on December 04, 2024
Employer practices, Immigrant workers
Report
Last updated on October 25, 2024
The Minneapolis Small Business High-Road Labor Standards Intervention Pilot Project
The Minneapolis Small Business High-Road Labor Standards Intervention Pilot Project seeks to provide services that support immigrant, black, indigenous, and people of color owned small businesses so that they can create healthy, just, and equitable jobs through meeting and or exceeding minimum city labor standards.
Grantee Research
Employer practices, Immigrant workers, Young workers, Energy transition, Workers in the South
Brief
Last updated on September 19, 2024
Extreme Heat at Work
This research brief offers the first nationally representative estimates of how outdoor and indoor workers are affected by extreme heat, highlighting that low-wage workers, defined as adults earning less than $15 an hour, face greater risks than higher-wage earners.
WorkRise Research
Skills and training, Young workers, Support during upskilling
Report
Last updated on August 27, 2024
Supporting Youth Economic Mobility through Employment-Focused Strategies
WorkRise’s new landscape research report on youth economic mobility reviews the evidence of programs and practices that help young workers succeed and advance in the labor market.
WorkRise Research