Work-Based Learning

Expanding High School Work-Based Learning In The U.S.

High-quality work-based learning experiences, like internships, pre-apprenticeships and cooperative education, can help high school students earn industry credentials while in high school, build the technical and interpersonal skills they need to succeed in the workplace, and provide a pathway into the labor market. Businesses and organizations, meanwhile, benefit by cultivating a pipeline of talent with new perspectives, while the local community can realize reduced unemployment and attract new business and industry.

In recent years, states have made progress in the development and expansion of high school work-based learning programs in schools and communities, by passing laws and updating policy with respect to strategy, coordination, oversight and accountability, access and scale, funding, and continuity of programming. But a recent nationwide audit of state policy reveals that their different approaches have led to program availability and quality that is inconsistent throughout the country. That’s why American Student Assistance is on a mission to expand opportunities for high school students to gain career experience, workplace skills and an understanding of the education necessary to follow their desired career path. Working together with educators, employers, youth-serving organizations, state and federal policymakers and more, our goal is to increase the number of states committed to ensuring all youth younger than 18 have equitable access to robust, high quality work-based learning programs, with policies in place to support program funding, infrastructure, quality and accountability.