‘Made in the trade’: youth attitudes toward apprenticeship certification

This paper explores the value youth place on apprenticeship training and credentials. Our analysis of interview and survey data from former high school apprentices in two trades suggests that there are several influences on their attitudes toward completion of apprenticeship training. These include how they see themselves as learners and workers as a result of experiences at school and in their families, and possibilities for theoretically applied learning through integrated classroom and on-the-job training. Our findings help to explain the different trajectories taken by different youth and have broader implications for thinking about apprenticeship as a learning model.