The Hazards of Training: Attrition and Retention in Construction Industry Apprenticeship Programs

Abstract

Apprenticeship programs in the United States, which provide workers with the broad-based skills required for practicing a trade via on-the-job training, are sponsored either unilaterally by employers or jointly by employers and trade unions. A comparison of the attrition and retention rates in these programs shows that program completion is more likely for apprentices in joint programs than for similar apprentices in unilateral programs. Rates of completion are lower for women than for men, and lower for ethnic and racial minorities than for whites. Apprenticeship duration rises with the unemployment rate.