Apprenticeship Inclusion Models (AIM):

Expanding Career Pathways for People with Disabilities

Why AIM?

Apprenticeship programs are on the rise nationally due to their 

capability to more efficiently connect workers with the skills 

they need to secure and maintain good jobs in high-demand 

careers. 

Because apprenticeship combines on-the job training and related 

classroom instruction with a steady paycheck, it offers an ideal 

solution for the 68 percent of Americans with disabilities who are 

job seeking and are engaged in employment-related activities.1

These activities may include preparing for work and the job 

search, actively searching for jobs, currently participating in 

employment, or seeking to improve their employment situation.

Apprenticeship has the potential to solve a modern challenge which has some job seekers sidelined even when demand for talent 

is high. Driven by the 2017 Executive Order on Expanding Apprenticeships in America, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is 

committed to increasing opportunities for talent development in the workplace. 

The AIM initiative is specifically focused on expanding access to inclusive apprenticeships for people with disabilities to ensure 

equal participation by nurturing talent everywhere.

REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIPS HAVE GROWN 56% SINCE 2013

2013

Source: DOL ETA Office of Apprenticeship

2015

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

2016 2017 2018

The Partners and Apprenticeship Sites

The AIM initiative is supported by DOL’s Office of Disability 

Employment Policy. 

Together with Social Policy Research Associates (SPR), 

Wheelhouse Group (Wheelhouse), and Jobs for the Future 

(JFF), AIM will guide four selected sites’ efforts to enhance 

practices, innovative supports, and expand pathways for 

people with disabilities into high-demand, well-paying 

careers. 

Amazon, Microsoft, the Healthcare Career Advancement 

Program (H-CAP), and the Industrial Manufacturing Technician 

Apprenticeship Program (IMT) will run apprenticeship pilots 

that seek to enhance supports for fully including youth and 

adults with disabilities. 

Our Approach

During a two-year period, pilot sites will receive training 

and technical assistance from the operating team to test 

new, innovative approaches to apprenticeship. AIM will 

also host a broader Community of Practice for interested 

practitioners and stakeholders. 

AIM will collect data, identify lessons learned, and enhance 

promising practices from the selected sites and the 

Community of Practice. These activities will support AIM’s 

key goal of informing, shaping, and strengthening national 

policy around apprenticeship, workforce development, 

and employment. 

The project will yield key insights for employers and 

other organizations about how to implement and scale 

up inclusive apprenticeship as a model for supporting 

efforts to recruit, hire, retain, and advance people 

with disabilities. AIM will also contribute 

insights, actionable practices, and 

models for inclusive apprenticeship 

to the ongoing and robust national 

dialogue on apprenticeship. 

1

2015 Kessler Foundation National Employment & Disability Survey: Overview

To Participate and Learn More

Work with selected pilot sites began Spring 2019. A broader audience will begin participating 

in the AIM Community of Practice in Summer 2019. We encourage interested parties and 

organizations to join our Community of Practice by reaching out to us at aim@spra.com. 

You can also stay up to date on the AIM initiative’s progress by visiting www.spra.com/AIM.

Preparation of this item was fully funded by the United States Department of Labor in the amount of $1,981,765.40 under Contract No. 1630DC-18-A-0004. 

This document does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or 

organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.