By Meghan McBride and Debi Pezzuto

In this blog post, we argue that adult education is uniquely positioned to lead pre-apprenticeship efforts by leveraging its trusted relationships, foundational skills instruction, and workforce partnerships to create accessible entry points into Registered Apprenticeships and expand economic mobility for adult learners.

Why Adult Education Should Lead Pre-Apprenticeship Efforts

Adult education has an identity problem. For years, it has been viewed primarily as a space in which adults earn a high school equivalency, improve their English, or strengthen foundational skills. Those functions remain essential, but they no longer reflect the full scope of adult education. Across the country, adult education programs also help learners enter college, earn industry credentials, transition into careers, and increase their earnings. They are doing far more than remediating skills. They are developing talent.

That is why pre-apprenticeship belongs in adult education.

A pre-apprenticeship prepares learners for entry into a Registered Apprenticeship (an apprenticeship program formally recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor) or another high-quality career pathway. Effective pre-apprenticeship programs typically combine workforce preparation, foundational skills instruction, career exploration, industry-specific training, and support services that help learners persist.

While workforce boards, employers, labor organizations, and community-based organizations all play important roles in apprenticeship ecosystems, local adult education providers—including adult schools and community colleges—are uniquely positioned to lead pre-apprenticeship efforts. No other partner combines direct access to adult learners, expertise in foundational skills instruction, and established workforce partnerships in quite the same way. Adult education providers already serve the learners; provide the instructional foundation; and maintain partnerships with workforce agencies, employers, and postsecondary institutions needed to move learners into apprenticeship and employment.

Pre-apprenticeship also strengthens what adult education has always done best: expanding economic mobility.

Building Pathways to Economic Mobility

Adults enroll in adult education programs for many reasons. But for many, the ultimate goal extends beyond finding a job. They are seeking economic stability, opportunities for advancement, and the ability to support their families. They are seeking careers, not just job placements.

Registered Apprenticeship has become one of the most effective pathways to family-sustaining careers. Participants earn wages while they learn, gain paid work experience alongside classroom instruction, and develop skills that employers value. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, individuals who complete Registered Apprenticeships earn average annual wages of approximately $80,000 during the first year after completion. That sort of earning level makes Registered Apprenticeship a compelling destination for adult learners seeking long-term economic mobility. It also strengthens the case for embedding pre-apprenticeship within adult education programs as a pathway into those opportunities.

Despite these opportunities, many adults never reach the point at which Registered Apprenticeship becomes a realistic option. They may lack the academic preparation, English language proficiency, workplace knowledge, confidence, or support needed to navigate the application process and succeed once they enter. Many of these learners are already enrolled in adult education programs. They include English language learners, adults without secondary credentials, workers seeking career advancement, justice-impacted individuals, and adults returning to education after years away from school.

Adult education providers have spent decades serving these populations. They understand the barriers adults face as they pursue education and employment and have built the learner supports, trusted relationships, and community partnerships that help adults persist. Integrating pre-apprenticeship into existing adult education programs builds on these strengths rather than creating an entirely new system.

Embedding pre-apprenticeship within adult education programs would help close the gap between learner potential and Registered Apprenticeship. It would provide learners with the academic preparation, workforce readiness, career exploration, and support needed to successfully transition into Registered Apprenticeship. For adults balancing work, family responsibilities, transportation challenges, and financial pressures, that pathway could open doors to careers that might otherwise remain out of reach.

For adult education providers, embedding pre-apprenticeship is a natural extension of their mission. It offers a more intentional way to connect foundational education with family-sustaining careers and expand economic opportunity for the learners they serve.

Preparing Learning for Apprenticeship Success

Registered Apprenticeship is designed to teach an occupation. Pre-apprenticeship prepares learners to succeed once they enter a Registered Apprenticeship program.

That preparation extends beyond trade-specific skills. Learners may need stronger skills in reading, writing, mathematics, English language, digital literacy, communication, and problem-solving before they are ready to thrive in an apprenticeship program. They also benefit from career exploration, workplace readiness, and an understanding of employer expectations.

These are areas in which adult education providers have decades of experience. Whether through English language acquisition, adult secondary education, workforce preparation, Integrated Education and Training (IET), or career pathway programs, they help learners apply foundational skills in real-world contexts. Integrating pre-apprenticeship into existing adult education programs would build on that expertise rather than requiring an entirely new instructional model.

The result would be a stronger starting point for Registered Apprenticeship. Learners would enter with stronger academic preparation, increased confidence, and a better understanding of workplace expectations—factors that can contribute to persistence and success.

A Strategy for Sustainability

Adult education has always evolved to meet the changing needs of learners and communities. Integrating pre-apprenticeship into existing programs represents the next step in that evolution.

Adult education providers already occupy a unique place within regional workforce systems. They work directly with learners, understand employer needs, and collaborate with workforce boards, community colleges, labor organizations, community-based organizations, and economic development agencies to create pathways into employment. Few organizations operate at the intersection of these relationships in the same way.

Integrating pre-apprenticeship into adult education strengthens those connections. It creates a more intentional pathway between foundational learning and Registered Apprenticeship while helping employers access a more prepared talent pool.

It also reinforces the full value of adult education. English language acquisition, adult basic and secondary education, and workforce preparation are often viewed as separate program areas. Through pre-apprenticeship, those services become part of a coordinated talent development strategy that prepares adults for continued education, career advancement, and family-sustaining careers.

As workforce and education systems become increasingly interconnected, adult education providers have an opportunity to demonstrate how their work contributes to regional workforce goals while remaining grounded in their core mission of expanding opportunity for adult learners.

The Road to Apprenticeship

Registered Apprenticeship is an effective strategy for developing skilled workers while creating pathways to family-sustaining careers. Expanding access to those opportunities requires entry points that are accessible, learner-centered, and connected to regional workforce needs.

Adult education providers are well positioned to serve that role. They already work with the populations that pre-apprenticeship is designed to reach. They have expertise in developing the foundational skills that support success in apprenticeship, and they maintain partnerships that help learners navigate education, training, and employment.

Building pre-apprenticeship into existing adult education programs leverages strengths that already exist rather than creating new systems. Adult learners gain access to careers with opportunities for advancement. Employers gain access to a larger pool of prepared workers. Regional workforce systems benefit from stronger alignment between education, training, and labor market demand.

Adult education providers already have the learners, instructional expertise, workforce partnerships, and community trust needed to lead this work. Expanding pre-apprenticeship within adult education is a practical strategy for strengthening workforce systems while creating more pathways to economic opportunity for adult learners.

Meghan McBride is an adult education and workforce development leader with expertise in WIOA Title II and data-informed professional development for educators. Her areas of specialization include policy analysis, strategic planning, and the use of data to strengthen adult education systems. Previously, she led adult education programs at Georgia Piedmont Technical College, including English language learning and workforce training. McBride has progressed from teaching to leadership roles, focusing on developing noncredit/workforce training, improving educational access, and enhancing learner transitions through data-informed strategies. She has a BS in secondary education, an MA in history, and an EdD in curriculum and instruction from Valdosta State University.

 Debi Pezzuto supports adult education consortia across California through data-informed strategies for improving programs. Her expertise includes English as a second language, high school equivalency, adult basic education, student transitions, Integrated Education and Training (IET), and WIOA Title II. Before joining WestEd, Pezzuto was the student services coordinator for Truckee Meadows Community College’s Adult Basic Education program, where she led outreach, advising, enrollment, and IET program and curriculum development. She has a BA in English from California State Sacramento and an AA in English from Cosumnes River College.