Youth apprenticeships represent a powerful tool for governors to provide opportunities for young people to gain skills and certifications for in-demand careers through industry-led program models. By advancing youth apprenticeship policy tailored to their states’ and territories’ unique landscapes and industries, governors can position youth to succeed while addressing growing demand for workers in priority sectors.
With no federal guidelines setting a standard for youth apprenticeship, states are able to establish systems that function within their own policy landscapes and tailor processes to desired outcomes.
Since August 2025, the National Governors Association’s Center for Best Practices has worked with a cohort of six states to advance youth apprenticeship policy and governance through the Policy Academy to Advance Youth Apprenticeship. Throughout the project period, cohort states have used an array of policy levers at their disposal to reduce barriers and build systems infrastructure so they can design and implement effective programs. Interagency state teams have focused on improving access to and collection of data, designing strategies for program development and unifying definitions of youth apprenticeship across state stakeholders.
Governors from three of the cohort states, Utah, North Carolina, and South Dakota, have recently leveraged legislative and executive tools to support and expand youth apprenticeship programs.
Utah: Codifying Governance Structures for Program Sustainability and Growth
In March 2026, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed into law SB 195, establishing the Statewide Youth Apprenticeship Governance Council, which built on SB 122, passed during the 2024 NGA Policy Academy to Advance Youth Apprenticeship. SB 122 mandated a study on the roles and functions of state agencies in designing and implementing youth apprenticeships. The study, commissioned by Talent Ready Utah and the Utah System of Higher Education and conducted by the Utah Education Policy Center, found Utah’s youth apprenticeship system lacked a shared operational definition across its four core agencies: Talent Ready Utah, the Department of Workforce Services, the State Board of Education, and the Governor’s Office. The report highlighted weakness among agencies in role clarity, funding coordination and shared data systems, and noted that logistical and regulatory factors. The multi-stakeholder nature of youth apprenticeship programs, including education systems, apprenticeship sponsors, and employers, means that a lack of alignment provides a significant barrier to program implementation.
The study’s primary recommendation was to create a statewide coordinating council to give relevant agencies clear roles and opportunities for collaboration, paving the way for SB 195’s Statewide Youth Apprenticeship Governance Council. The council is charged with developing a statewide operational definition of youth apprenticeship and shared quality standards, establishing communication protocols, recommending student and employer incentive strategies, building unified performance monitoring and data systems, and developing phased statewide implementation plans which identify target sectors. Membership of the council includes:
- Director of the Talent Ready Utah
- State Superintendent of Public Instruction
- The Commissioner of Higher Education
- Executive director of the Department of Workforce Services
- Executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity
- Three industry representatives with apprenticeship/work-based learning experience
- One local education agency representative, appointed by the State Board of Education
- One representative from an institution of higher education, appointed by the Board
- Any additional individuals the council determines necessary
The council will play an important role in institutionalizing shared leadership across education, workforce, and industry, and creating the governance needed to move youth apprenticeship from a collection of pilots to a coherent statewide system in Utah.
North Carolina: Executive Action to Set Priorities and Redirect Existing Funding Streams
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein has leveraged executive action to prioritize and fund youth apprenticeship programs across state agencies. In March 2025, Gov. Stein signed Executive Order 11, which establishes the Governor’s Council on Workforce and Apprenticeships and sets a target of spending at least 6% of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I funds on pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship beginning in Program Year 2025. As directed by the Executive Order, in December 2025, the Council released 30 strategies to meet 11 statewide workforce goals. The goals include increasing the number of young people attaining credentials of value, doubling the state’s number of registered apprentices, and doubling the number of high school students participating in work-based learning.
Gov. Stein has continued to exercise the executive authority offered by WIOA to support North Carolina’s robust youth apprenticeship ecosystem. In February 2026, he announced the redirection of WIOA discretionary reserve funds to NC Career Launch, the statewide youth apprenticeship system jointly led by the Office of the Governor and the North Carolina Business Committee for Education. NC Career Launch helps employers develop registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs in high-demand sectors for students in grades 11 and 12.
South Dakota: Amending Structures to Make Way for Policy Priorities
In February 2026, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden signed into law SB 63, establishing a State Office of Apprenticeship within the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation (DLR). The bill creates a State Apprenticeship Agency (SAA), transitioning the state’s registered apprenticeship system from federal to state administration, allowing for additional state flexibility and authority over program standards, approval criteria and administrative priorities for apprenticeship registration. South Dakota joins the 32 states and territories that have SAAs recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Following the passage of SB 63, Gov. Rhoden has signaled a focus on increasing access to youth apprenticeship and bridging gaps between apprenticeship programs and the high school curriculum in the state. The desired result is the expansion and integration of pre-apprenticeship programs, creating pathways to registered apprenticeships. At the Start Today SD Apprenticeship Summit held in April 2026, the governors announced apprenticeship eligibility would extend to all South Dakota high schools as well as a new apprenticeship coordinator position. The expansion will include both youth pre-apprenticeships and registered apprenticeships and aims to empower schools to tailor apprenticeship opportunities to student needs. DLR’s 2026 Apprenticeship Knowledge Series, a recurring program for employers and education partners, opened its first three sessions to educate state partners on the opportunities presented by youth apprenticeship, with sessions covering youth labor law exemptions and program benefits.
Key Takeaways for Governors
As governors implement their vision for education and workforce development, youth apprenticeship offers a pathway for students and young adults to participate in training opportunities that lead to quality careers. By analyzing the current state landscape, bringing relevant stakeholders to the table, and identifying structural barriers, governors have the opportunity to exercise executive authority in ways that complement the work of state legislatures to expand and incorporate youth apprenticeship into statewide education, workforce and economic development priorities.
