# Is Apprenticeship the Key to Bridging the Experience Gap in Education?

By Michael B. Horn · Published 2024-01-22 · Updated 2026-06-08 · Education Technology on MarketScale
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Creator hub: The Future of Education with Michael Horn

> Hands-on training programs offer a direct pathway to closing the gap between classroom learning and real-world job readiness

## Key points

- Apprenticeships are jobs first — they provide a living wage alongside formal and informal training, distinguishing them from unpaid internships or classroom-only education.
- Ryan Craig argues apprenticeship is the only alternative pathway that truly levels the playing field for students who cannot afford or benefit from traditional college.
- Bridging the experience gap requires rethinking workforce development as an integral part of educational reform, not a separate track.

Apprenticeship could be the perfect solution to moving the needle and bridging the experience gap in education. As education stands at a crossroads between educational reform and workforce development, how can apprenticeship programs revolutionize the approach to equipping the next generation for the evolving job market? In an insightful episode of The Future of Education: Class Disrupted, hosted by Michael B. Horn and Diane Tavenner, guest Ryan Craig, the Managing Director at Achieve Partners, explores the transformative potential of apprenticeships. This discussion teases a critical perspective on apprenticeship as a viable alternative to the traditional college pathway, highlighting its role in addressing the experience gap in education today. "Apprenticeship is really the only alternative pathway that truly levels the playing field because it's a job," Craig said. "An apprenticeship is a job, first and foremost, where you're being paid a living wage and you have built in formal and informal training as well as wage and career progression with the apprenticeship." An apprenticeship is a job, first and foremost, where you're being paid a living wage and you have built in formal and informal training as well as wage and career progression with the apprenticeship.— Ryan Craig, Managing Director at Achieve PartnersThis statement underscores the unique value of apprenticeships in providing practical, paid experience alongside education, thereby equipping individuals with the skills and expertise needed in the modern workforce.

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