WASHINGTON − While Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have numerous disagreements, as the 2024 electoral race intensifies, they both seem to agree on one issue: the importance of increasing access to apprenticeships and trade schools for young Americans.

Recently, Harris disclosed her plan to eliminate college degree requirements for various federal positions and to urge private employers to do the same if she is elected in November.

While speaking in the ex-mining town of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, she remarked that the U.S. has “for too long” focused on a singular route to success: a four-year college degree.

“We need to appreciate the value of alternative paths,” Harris emphasized, highlighting the significance of apprenticeships and vocational training in a predominantly working-class area of a critical swing state.

Trump has also been promoting similar ideas.

While in office, he enacted an executive order in 2020 requiring federal agencies to prioritize a job applicant’s skills instead of strictly adhering to college degree requirements. This order has remained intact among the few Trump-era policies that President Joe Biden did not repeal upon taking office.

This emerging bipartisan interest reflects shifting American views on higher education over the past decade.

With college costs soaring, less students are enrolling in undergraduate programs, prompting politicians from both parties to explore alternative strategies for workforce development.

According to 2023 Census Bureau data, nearly 66% of Americans aged 25 and older lack a bachelor’s degree. Furthermore, a 2023 New America survey indicated that 66% of participants believed they could secure well-paying, stable jobs with only a high school diploma or GED, compared to 50% who thought the same in 2018.

How did we get here?

The bipartisan enthusiasm for apprenticeships isn’t a recent phenomenon. In the late 1980s and 1990s, there was significant interest in expanding and enhancing apprenticeship programs.

However, as college graduates’ wages began to rise more than those in trade positions in the early 2000s, high school students were funneled towards four-year degree programs.

In his first 2009 address to Congress, former President Barack Obama encouraged all Americans to pursue higher education and set a goal for the U.S. to have the highest percentage of college graduates globally by 2020.

As a result, college enrollment steadily increased, with about a 28% rise in the total number of Americans attending traditional colleges between 2000 and 2019.

The Trump effect

Although both parties have shown support for alternative pathways to education—and even took steps like the 2015 American Apprenticeship Initiative to allocate over $100 million to expand registered apprenticeships into new fields—most of the emphasis has remained on higher education.

Will Marshall, founder and president of the Progressive Policy Institute, a center-left think tank, recalls being criticized by more liberal peers for not fully supporting college-for-all initiatives. Marshall had instead called for public investment in apprenticeships and career programs outside of college.

He noted that sentiments began to shift shortly after Trump’s election in 2016.

“People started to recognize what I believe is a crucial shift in national politics, which is the increasing polarization of the parties based on educational attainment,” said Marshall.

In that election year, Trump received more support from voters without a college degree, while his opponent, Hillary Clinton, had a stronger appeal among college-educated voters.

The results served as an important reminder for progressives, according to Marshall.

“People began to realize that those without college degrees, especially die-hard Trump supporters, were not seeking traditional college education. Instead, they wanted quick training programs and certifications to enter the workforce,” Marshall explained.

Due to the surging cost of higher education, more individuals are now considering apprenticeships, community colleges, and vocational training as better value options. The average tuition at public four-year universities has increased by over 35% between 2010 and 2023, while apprenticeships typically come at no cost and offer paid training opportunities.

‘Adult earnings’ with no student debt

This shift is a major reason why Sarah Jones, 21, chose to skip college in favor of an apprenticeship with the Steamfitters Local 602 in Maryland after graduating high school in 2022. Jones was confident she wanted to avoid an office job and took inspiration from her father, who earns a good income as a garbage truck driver without a degree.

Now in her third year as an apprentice learning to maintain HVAC systems, she earns over $30 per hour and believes that choosing this path ranks among her best decisions.

“I won’t have any student debt,” Jones remarked. “People should examine their college debt against their post-graduation earning potential. I’ll finish my program a year after my peers graduate from college, but I’ll be making an adult salary by 23.”

Statistics from the Department of Labor indicate that over 90% of individuals who complete a registered apprenticeship can expect an average starting salary of $77,000 annually.

Nitzan Pelman, CEO of Climb Together, an organization aiding low-income adults in securing well-paying jobs, attributes the increase in support for such alternatives to the high costs and decreasing value of traditional college education.

“Republicans emphasize the importance of hard work and capitalism. Meanwhile, Democrats realize that affordability is growing more problematic,” she highlighted. “This common ground leads both parties to find shared interests.”

Trump and Harris’s approaches

Both Trump and Harris have hinted at the possibility of allowing individuals without four-year degrees to take on certain federal jobs. They have also suggested programs that would increase access to apprenticeships.

However, when diving into the specifics of how these proposals would be realized, the bipartisan agreement starts to falter.

“We find ourselves in an era when partisanship is incredibly heightened,” Marshall noted. “Even issues that are not inherently ideological can become entangled in the prevailing culture of non-cooperation.”

For example, in 2021, the Biden administration overturned a Trump-era policy that enabled trade and industry groups to create and manage their own apprenticeship programs, arguing that those industry-led apprenticeships were often of lower quality than those sanctioned by the Department of Labor.

In 2024, the administration proposed a plan to modernize and enhance the National Apprenticeship System. However, Republican opponents criticized this approach as being overly complicated, enforcing a uniform strategy for apprenticeships across various states.

Multiple bipartisan initiatives aiming to improve apprenticeship programs have been introduced in Congress. The National Apprenticeship Act, focusing on funding workforce development, has successfully passed the House several times but consistently faces delays in the Senate.

As with many policies, Marshall believes that to achieve workforce solutions under the next administration, whether it be Trump or Harris, some compromises will be necessary.

“People are eager for alternative pathways,” he asserted. “Our political leaders must ensure that there is a robust system for those without degrees to earn and learn, comparable to our higher education system.”