About the Movement
Powering the Launchpad Decade
CareerWise is leading a national movement to build America’s education-to-career pipeline. And it’s working. For decades, our schools have anchored to a single path: college immediately after high school. But this model doesn’t work for everyone. CareerWise spent 10 years creating the youth apprenticeship gold standard and new pathways to success for young people nationwide. Now we’re powering the systems and coalitions needed to make the Launchpad Decade a success.
Affordability, Anxiety & AI Fuel Pressure
America’s young people are facing a perfect storm. The cost of education is outpacing incomes, anxiety and economic uncertainty are at record highs, and artificial intelligence is reshaping the workforce faster than our systems can keep up. The Launchpad Decade, those critical years between 16 and 26, has never been more challenging, or more consequential.
Yet our systems are making it harder, not easier. Nearly 65% of CareerWise apprentices who live with parents are family earners, contributing to household expenses while simultaneously trying to build their own futures. More than half of young adults are cost-burdened by housing alone, and $1.6 trillion in student loan debt has turned the promise of education into an impossible calculation for millions. We are asking young people to do extraordinary things without giving them the tools to succeed.
But challenge creates opportunity. When young people are given structured pathways that connect learning to real careers, outcomes shift dramatically. CareerWise apprentices are proof: they’re earning while they learn, building durable skills that can’t be automated, and gaining the confidence and networks to navigate an uncertain world. The solution isn’t to slow down change. It’s to build systems that turn it into opportunity for every young American.
Change Is Happening,
And We’re Driving It.
A New Era of Career Pathways
The past decade has seen jobs without degree requirements quadruple. Federal funding for apprenticeships has grown tenfold. States have begun to invest in career education to make it easier for businesses to adopt apprenticeship as a talent strategy. These shifts all point to how we need a different approach.
A Model That Works for Everyone
Youth apprenticeship and career accelerators offer a solution where everyone wins: Employers get the skilled talent they need, schools deliver relevant learning experiences, and young people gain pathways to meaningful careers.
The Future of Work Starts Here
Apprenticeship isn’t a program. It’s a movement. A movement to create dynamic and sustainable career pathways for the next generation and the businesses and communities in need of a skilled workforce. We’re creating a new paradigm, and it’s already transforming lives in communities across the country.
This isn’t a question of whether or not change is coming—that change is already here. Now it’s about leading it.
How We’re Creating Change
Learn more about how states, employers, researchers, and educators are partnering to create pathways that work for everyone.
Join Our Coalitions
See how states, industries, and communities are partnering to scale apprenticeship nationwide.
Explore Our Coalitions
Explore Our Research
Discover the data, insights, and evidence driving the apprenticeship movement forward.
View Research and Insights
Explore Apprenticeship
Learn how apprenticeships create pathways for young people and solve talent challenges for employers.
Learn About Apprenticeships