The number of apprentices nationally and in Washington state has increased more than 70% in the past decade, according to a new report from the Washington Student Achievement Council. Washington currently has close to 16,000 active apprentices, who are paid to work while they receive classroom instruction.

Rachel McAloon, program manager of the registered apprenticeship section of the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, said over the past decade, significant state and federal grant funding has helped expand registered apprenticeships.

“Instead of taking on a bunch of debt and going to college and still having to figure out where you’re gonna work when you graduate, we provide the job and full-time employment and benefits at the beginning of the program and then skill the worker up,” she said.

McAloon added that about 80% of apprenticeship programs in the state are in the building and construction trades, but said Washington has been a leader in expanding into non-traditional industries like IT, health care, education, and cosmetology.

She said apprenticeships are growing as parents and counselors recognize their value and encourage young people in that direction. Employers are also seeing the benefits, gaining well-trained, safer and more loyal employees.

“They’re also tailored to their individual employer and their business,” she continued. “So they get this great employee that also gets all of this background classroom instruction to really make them capable on the job.”

The average income of apprentices who complete their program is over $100,000. But, expanding apprenticeships involves more than creating new programs, McAloon explained, it also requires a societal shift to view them as a strong alternative to traditional college education.

This story was originally published by Washington News Service, a bureau of Public News Service, a national newswire with a local focus with state-level, public interest news.