Massachusetts has one of the strongest education-to-career infrastructures in the  country. Career and Technical Education (CTE) schools provide students with  comprehensive classroom and hands-on training, preparing them for entry-level roles  and introducing them early to in-demand career pathways. Building on this foundation, the Healey-Driscoll Administration has made registered apprenticeship a central part of  its workforce agenda – awarding $13.5 million in GROW grants since 2023, providing  over $1.6 million in tax credits back to employers for hiring apprentices, and setting a  bold target: registering 100,000 new apprentices by 2036. 

Massachusetts is joining the Apprenticeship America cohort of the federally funded  Future Ready Apprenticeship Center to do what it does best: innovate at scale and build  systems that last. 

A Pioneer and Innovator 

Massachusetts continues to lead the nation in education and is using Registered  Apprenticeship to build a talent pipeline while increasing access to, and affordability of, child care. In 2024, Massachusetts launched the nation’s first full-time Out-of-School  Time apprenticeship program, established a Teacher Registered Apprenticeship program across seven K-12 districts, and expanded access to early childhood education apprenticeship programs. The state also works with organizations like Massachusetts  Girls in Trades, which is committed to promoting good-paying, high-skilled careers in  union construction trades to students in middle school and high school, as well as  recent high school graduates. The programs have become models for other states to  learn from and replicate. 

Building the Connections That Unlock Scale 

During her State of the Commonwealth address, Governor Healey set a new goal of  registering 100,000 new apprentices in 10 years, in fields such as construction, health care, tech, advanced manufacturing and education. In just over two years, the  Healey-Driscoll Administration has registered 10,000 apprentices, delivering technical and on-the-job training in key industries, opening the door to a family-sustaining career  while also ensuring the state has a well-trained workforce to meet the needs of employers. Additionally, a number of the state’s network of 16 MassHire Workforce  Boards serve as intermediary sponsors, enabling small and mid-sized employers to  participate in apprenticeship programs they couldn’t administer independently. 

These are the kinds of structural investments that turn good intentions into durable  systems. Massachusetts is making them now, and the Apprenticeship America cohort  will help strengthen these efforts through technical assistance and peer learning. 

The A2B Advantage 

One of Massachusetts’ most distinctive assets is its Associate to Bachelor’s degree  transfer system — a formal, statewide framework that allows community college credits  to stack seamlessly toward a university degree. The coalition sees a clear opportunity to  layer apprenticeship credentials onto that infrastructure, so that a young person’s on the-job learning counts not just as workforce experience but as academic credit toward  a degree. When apprenticeship and the A2B pathway work in concert, the result is a  student who graduates with industry credentials, real work experience and a college  degree — a combination that’s hard to find and even harder to build at scale. 

Priority sectors for Massachusetts’ expansion include health care, education, advanced  manufacturing, clean energy, AI and technology, and hospitality — a mix that reflects  both the Commonwealth’s economic strengths and the sectors where young talent  pipelines matter most to employers. 

“Massachusetts is honored to be selected for the CareerWise Future Ready Center  Apprenticeship Cohort,” said Margaret Gilligan, Deputy Director of the Division of  Apprentice Standards. “This opportunity strengthens our ability to align education,  industry, and workforce systems to create meaningful apprenticeship career pathways  for our Massachusetts youth while meeting evolving employer needs. Massachusetts:  Leading the way with future-ready youth talent.” 

“Massachusetts has the innovation culture and the educational infrastructure to build  something that could set the national standard for youth apprenticeship,” said  

Ryan Gensler, Executive Vice President at CareerWise. “The Apprenticeship  America cohort is the structure that helps the Commonwealth connect those strengths into pathways that reach every student — including the ones in communities where  those pathways are still being built.” 

What’s Next 

As part of the Apprenticeship America cohort, Massachusetts will develop a formal  statewide youth apprenticeship plan, establish a Youth Apprenticeship Advisory Council  to bring student and family voice directly into system design, and work to formalize the  connections between Innovation Pathways schools and registered apprenticeship  standards — turning one of the Commonwealth’s most promising assets into a true on ramp for youth. The state will also build out the articulation agreements that allow  apprenticeship credentials to stack toward the A2B degree pathway, making the case to  students and families that apprenticeship and college aren’t competing choices. 

Massachusetts has been leading in public education for generations. Now it’s building  the system to make youth apprenticeship a natural extension of that leadership. 

Learn more about the Future Ready Apprenticeship Center and the Apprenticeship  America cohort in our press release.