EPSCoR-Funded Consortium Deciphers Apprenticeship Data, Strengthening Kansas Workforce Strategy

The Kansas Office of Registered Apprenticeship is tapping into over two decades of data, thanks to researchers at the University of Kansas.

“We have data on apprentices going back since 2000 and before,” said Shonda Anderson, the director of the Kansas Office of Registered Apprenticeships.

With about 70 datapoints for thousands of apprentices, analyzing this data is a challenge, as Anderson admits. “We need the experts to look at the data analytically and help it tell us a story.”

When William Duncan, assistant research professor of data science at KU, shared details about the Kansas Data Science Consortium, Anderson saw an opportunity. She asked if the KDSC could delve into their data and was met with a resounding yes.

The KDSC creates opportunities for college students to learn and practice advanced methods for analyzing digital information shared by businesses, governments, and other organizations. The program is housed at KU, Kansas State University and Wichita State University with funding through the U.S. National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). 

In a project commissioned by the Department of Commerce, Duncan and several students launched research last year to assess the economic impact of high quality, earn-and-learn registered apprenticeships in Kansas.

Their research is revealing interesting results. For example, demographic patterns show strong racial diversity but low gender diversity among the apprentices. Construction made up 60% of the sponsors for apprentices.

“We saw that the number of registered apprenticeships and unique program sponsors is generally increasing in the State of Kansas, which is good,” said Ethan Klein, a recent KU graduate who conducted the research with Duncan and Daria Milakhina, associate researcher at KU’s Institute for Policy and Social Research.

Klein was drawn to the project. “I think every college student wants to see how what they learn in the classroom setting can be applied to a work setting. One of the really enjoyable parts of this project is seeing how I could be given a data set and apply some of these data visualization and data analysis techniques.”

The team also seeks to quantify the return on investment for registered apprenticeships in Kansas. Nationally, the ROI is $1.48 for every dollar invested.

A Revival for Registered Apprenticeships

While apprenticeships date back hundreds of years, their decline in the past century led to a gap between education and employment.

“We've created a system that doesn't allow for everyone to engage,” Anderson said. “We are telling folks that you either need to go to college to be successful or you need to just go into the workforce.  We believe that both can happen at the same time and it’s a win for the economy.”

But this earn-and-learn system is enjoying a modern revival, offering a valuable path for those who may not pursue traditional college routes. An executive order from Governor Laura Kelly in 2022 dramatically scaled up apprenticeship efforts in Kansas to meet skilled labor needs, as the state’s business investments hit record highs.

“We have this discrepancy between huge growth in our economy, and our greatest asset, which is our people, leaving the state,” stated Anderson. “We need our people to make the state prosperous. It would be great if we could get them some additional training, skills, education and a wage at the same time.”

Anderson hopes the data-driven insights from KDSC will inform solid policy decisions and expand apprenticeships farther into fields like teaching and nursing, benefiting both the state’s economy and its people.

By collaborating with the KDSC, businesses and organizations can unlock valuable insights from their data, much like the office Anderson leads is doing. Learn more about how to partner with KDSC.

Final Thoughts

Anderson is eager to dive into more of the data, as the researchers compile surveys from more than 100 companies who have sponsored apprentices. She has a vision for the program.

“My dad is absolutely, bar none, the smartest human being I know. He can estimate million-dollar projects. He can fix anything. But he apprenticed under his dad's welding business and was told, don't worry, you don't need to go to school, you don't need to get further training.”

“I truly believe that if my dad had been given an opportunity to register his apprenticeship program to [reflect] that experience, his life would be very different today.”