AUTHOR: Kim Slowey
PUBLISHED: Jan. 16, 2020
Dive Brief:
- The Illinois Economic Policy Institute, in conjunction with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Project for Middle Class Renewal, released the results of a study that found that those enrolled in joint labor-management registered apprenticeships experience comparable training hours, graduation rates and pay as those who attend a four-year university in Illinois. …
- Despite the potential for periods of unemployment due to the cyclical nature of the construction industry and accounting for the gaps between when a job is over and the next one starts, a union journey worker ($2.4 million) can expect to make about as much as someone with a bachelor’s degree ($2.5 million after student debt) during the life of their career. While the total earnings figure factors in student loans, those who “earn while they learn” through apprenticeships don’t have the burden of student debt.
Dive Insight: …
- Joint construction programs have had a 54% completion rate since 2000, comparable to a public, four-year university’s rate of 61%.
- The racial makeup of graduates from joint construction programs is similar to that of public universities in Illinois.
Sometimes, apprenticeships in specific trades in Illinois can result in even higher wages. After completing a five-year apprenticeship through the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers-NECA (National Electrical Contractors Association) Institute a journeyman wireman in Illinois makes more than $49 per hour.