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Show Notes
What if we could get millions of young people good jobs, free them from college debt, and give the economy a big boost? This episode’s guests say we can do it — if we just follow a proven model from Switzerland, now being tried and tested with promising results here in the United States.
It’s an update of an ancient concept: apprenticeships. Students attend high school while also working and learning at a real job. Everyone benefits: young people, employers, schools, and the economy overall.
We learn about it from two experts:
Dr. Katie Caves is a post-doctoral researcher with the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at Switzerland’s Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich.
That’s like the Swiss version of MIT — Albert Einstein studied and taught and there.
Katie grew up in the Bay Area of California.
Vinz Koller is an expert on US workforce development policy and the Director of Training and Technical Assistance at Social Policy Research Associates in Oakland, California (disclosure: SPR has been a client of Boots Road Group, the producer Dastardly Cleverness).
SPR “provides customized services in evaluation, organizational development, and facilitation and training.”
Vinz grew up in Switzerland.
Show links:
“How the Swiss Train Apprentices Differently,” by Vinz Koller and Dr. Katharine Caves (PDF)
“Training for Growth” report on Colorado apprenticeships
KOF Swiss Economic Institute website
Social Policy Research Associates website
CApprenticeship2.0 LinkedIn group