Construction apprenticeships and economic mobility: Education, race, ethnicity, and macroeconomic instability

Construction apprenticeship programs involve significant classroom instruction and on-the-job training to develop highly skilled and broadly trained workers. Data from the state of Nevada, USA indicate that the typical apprentice who completes a program can expect to earn 56% more than the expected wage elsewhere in the economy for similar amounts of formal education. Potential earnings premiums are even higher for those with less educational attainment. One obstacle for completion is macroeconomic volatility, which under recessionary conditions, reduces apprentices' opportunities to obtain on-the-job learning hours. Our study shows that economic fluctuations, which were particularly severe in Nevada before and during the Great Recession, especially affected less-educated workers, who stood to benefit the most from completing an apprenticeship. Findings also indicate that completion rates for underrepresented demographic groups were typically more cyclically sensitive compared to white, male, non-veteran apprentices with a high school degree.