Demographics
Gender
Ninety-six percent (96%) of the 2012-2013 Registered Apprenticeship program completers were men (Chart 4). The few women Registered Apprentices (36) were represented in only 8 of the 27 occupations in which 2012-2013 Registered Apprenticeship completers are working.
Chart 4: Gender of Registered Apprenticeship Completers
The occupations with female participation include: Firefighter; Carpenter; Elevator Constructor, HVAC Technician, Police Officer, Sheet Metal Worker; Steamfitter and Electrician. Only Police Officer had participation by more than five women. A total of 19 women completed a Police Officer Registered Apprenticeship program, which is 18% of all Police Officer Registered Apprenticeship completers.
Chart 5: median wages by gender
Female Registered Apprentices with full-quarter wages have a median quarterly wage of $21,061, which is higher than the median quarterly wage of $20,681 for male Registered Apprentices. However, this is a limited comparison since there are so few female Registered Apprentices and they only overlap with male Registered Apprentices in a handful of occupations. Therefore a comparison of the median quarterly wages of Registered Apprenticeship completers working as police officers is instructive, because of the number and proportion of female Registered Apprentices entering this occupation. See Chart 5.The male police officers with full-quarter wages have a median quarterly wage of $22,590 compared to $21,784 for female police officers. That $806 quarterly wage difference translates to over $3,200 annually or $260 per month.
Age
At the time of program completion, the majority (79%) of Registered Apprentices are over the age of 26 (See Chart 6). This means that those Registered Apprentices had a gap between high school completion and entry into their Registered Apprenticeship program, during which time they may have attempted college or explored other career pathways. In most cases MLDS data is unable to provide insight on the pathways to Registered Apprenticeship. This is
Chart 6: Registered Apprenticeship Completers - Age at Time of Completion
because MLDS data begins in 2007-2008, after many of the Registered Apprentices would have completed high school. For example, a 26 year old Registered Apprenticeship program completer would likely have completed high school in 2004 – prior to the MLDS data. Further, MLDS does not collect wage data on individuals for whom there is no education record. Accordingly, that same 26 year old Registered Apprentice would not have wage data because of the lack of an education record.
The median quarterly wages for the Registered Apprenticeship program completers aged 26 to 35 with full-quarter wages five years after completion is over $21,000. See Chart 7. Notably, only the Registered Apprenticeship program completers who are 41 or older have median quarterly wages below $19,000 ($17,315). This result is unexpected
Chart 7: Registered Apprenticeship Completers Quarterly Earnings by Age
since these older Registered Apprentices would be expected to have more work experience and prior skills, which tend to result in higher wages. One factor that may help explain the lower wage is that the older Registered Apprenticeship completers were underrepresented in Protective Services occupations (specifically Police Officer Registered Apprenticeships), which is the highest earning occupation for Registered Apprenticeship completers.
Race/Ethnicity
Approximately two-thirds of all Registered Apprenticeship program completers were White (67%). See Chart 8. African-Americans made up a quarter (24%) of the program completers and Hispanics made up 7% of program completers. The remaining two percent of program completers identified as Asian or Multiple Races/Other. The race/ethnicity of Registered Apprenticeship program completers with full-quarter wages five years after program completion are substantially similar to the overall percentage of program completers: 72% are White, 21% are African American, and 5% are Hispanic.
Chart 8: Registered Apprenticeship Completers Race/Ethnicity
Chart 9: Registered Apprenticeship Completers - Median Quarterly Wages by Race/Ethnicity
The median quarterly wage for African Americans is $230 per quarter higher than Whites and $245 higher than Hispanic Registered Apprenticeship completers with full-quarter wages. See Chart 9. Once again, the wage differences can be partly explained by the fact that 34% of African-American Registered Apprenticeship completers with full-quarter wages completed a Police Officer Registered Apprenticeship program versus 10% of all White Registered Apprenticeship completers with full-quarter wages. Police Officer Registered Apprenticeship program completers report the highest median quarterly wages among Registered Apprenticeship completers.
Apprenticeship program completers
There are four sections to this interactive report. The first section explores the occupations and industries in which the apprenticeship completers are working and how those occupations and industries impact wages. The second section, looks at apprenticeship program completers by various demographic factors including gender, age, and race/ethnicity. The third section presents some policy implications suggested by these data. Finally, the four section provides definitions and data notes and limitations.