Thank you for a successful 9th Annual National Apprenticeship Week (NAW)! We look forward to celebrating the 10th anniversary of National Apprenticeship Week this year from November 17-23, 2024, so start planning your events now! This year's theme - 10 Years of Engagement, Expansion, and Innovation - is in recognition of the fact that, since its inception, literally thousands of events have allowed countless individuals to learn about the life-changing impacts that the National Apprenticeship System has had and continues to have for so many jobseekers and employers.

What is National Apprenticeship Week?

NAW is a nationwide celebration where employers, industry representatives, labor organizations, community-based organizations, workforce partners, educational institutions, and Federal,  State, and Local government agencies host events to showcase the successes and value of Registered Apprenticeship for strengthening our economy by developing a highly skilled workforce to meet industry needs, creating pathways for career seekers to catapult into good jobs, and advancing racial and gender equity.  NAW gives Registered Apprenticeship sponsors the opportunity to showcase their programs, facilities, and apprentices in their community. 

Additionally, NAW is the ideal platform to demonstrate the unifying power of the ApprenticeshipUSA ecosystem by uplifting examples of partnership and collaboration among national Registered Apprenticeship system partners, including employers, apprentices, community-based organizations, education and training providers, federal partners, industry associations, intermediaries, labor unions, State Apprenticeship Agencies, apprenticeship grantees and contractors, Apprenticeship Ambassadors, and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) apprenticeship staff. Since NAW launched in 2014, these ApprenticeshipUSA partners have hosted approximately 10,000 apprenticeship events which were attended by over 1.4 million people of all ages and backgrounds.  They also issued 1,825 apprenticeship proclamations over the last nine years which has led to a significant increase in Registered Apprenticeship growth.

Overarching Theme and Objectives

As shared above, the theme for NAW 2024 is “National Apprenticeship Week 2024: Celebrating 10 Years of Engagement, Expansion, and Innovation.” This theme reflects the transformative power of Registered Apprenticeship and its ability to bring together key national, regional, state, and local stakeholders across the country to meet critical workforce needs. Since NAW’s inception in 2014, Registered Apprenticeship has gained increased recognition as a tool to create the highly skilled workforce necessary to modernize our country’s infrastructure, build clean energy technologies, address cybersecurity threats, and build a stronger care economy, while also creating essential on-ramps for job seekers to enter into robust career pathways.

This year offers us a unique opportunity to spotlight the significant progress made not only nationally as a whole, but also within individual regions and states – thanks to the hard work of so many ApprenticeshipUSA partners. Registered Apprenticeship is recognized as a key strategy to improving job quality, and creating access to good-paying, family-sustaining jobs for all. We intend to especially highlight how the role of Registered Apprenticeship has grown exponentially both in relevance and stature while continuing to be a key component of our nation’s sustained economic growth.  

The following daily themes are meant to encourage National Apprenticeship System partners to plan related events and special announcements during NAW.

Monday:  Youth Apprenticeship Day

Tuesday: Registered Apprenticeship in New and Emerging Industries and Around the Globe

Wednesday: Expanding Registered Apprenticeship to Underserved Populations  

Thursday: Women in Apprenticeship

Friday: Federal Apprenticeship and Veterans in Apprenticeship