As Interest in Work-Based Learning for Students Grows, New Data Analysis Shows Louisiana Lagging Other States In Apprenticeship and Internship Participation - CABL

All of this is important because Louisiana has a serious leakage in the pipeline of students who transition from high school to postsecondary education and the workforce. This is born out in data from 2022. Of the 44,000 students in the high school that year, 50% are believed to have gone straight into the workforce without enrolling in 2-year or 4-year college, an opportunity for more high school internship and apprenticeship work experiences. In January of this year, Better Louisiana co-hosted a summit with the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry to connect business leaders from across the state with education officials and employers who utilize apprenticeships and internships. The goal was to provide them with more information about the value of work-based learning, how it impacts their local high schools under the new school accountability system, and the ways it can help them meet their workforce needs. One of the key findings from the summit was that Louisiana currently has two existing tax credits designed to support employers who hire apprentices or youth from disadvantaged circumstances. Both are significantly underutilized, have different rules, and do not align with the new school accountability system. Better Louisiana is proposing legislation this session to combine those two credits into a streamlined program to make them more accessible to students, and encourage businesses to expand participation.

https://cabl.org/as-interest-in-work-based-learning-for-students-grows-new-data-analysis-shows-louisiana-lagging-other-states-in-apprenticeship-and-internship-participation/