Youth apprenticeship and Tech Prep programs sometimes work in tandem. For instance, Liberty High School's Tech Prep program has a youth apprenticeship component. Three-year apprenticeships are available for advanced vocational students in four fields, beginning in the senior year. Students take classes at the high school and technical college to earn their associate degree while also working 20 hours a week at a local business. By design, private sector partners participate in academies' management and policy making.
Most academies recruit students to join their program, and students typically apply to participate.
Academies may serve a wide range of students, including those at risk of school failure and those who are college bound. Student cohorts stay with the same teachers over an extended period of time, often for several years throughout high school. With common planning periods, teachers are able to organize interrelated, team-taught lessons that flow from one year to the next. Supplemented with training at the workplace, academies offer curricula that integrate career topics with applied, hands-on activities and rigorous academic courses. The academy curriculum prepares students for immediate employment after graduation, but it is sufficiently rigorous that they may enroll in postsecondary schooling, if they choose.