During the White House Apprenticeship Summit yesterday, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced the first-ever effort to document the return on investment for U.S. employers using registered apprenticeships. The Joyce Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation will support a partnership between Case Western Reserve University and the Department of Commerce’s Economics and Statistics Administration to conduct the study across multiple sectors.

“Hard data is critical to making the business case for expansion of apprenticeship models,” said Secretary Penny Pritzker. “As part of the Commerce Department’s ‘Skills for Business’ initiative, we believe this rigorous study will be an essential tool to communicate the value of these programs to industry. We are collaborating with Case Western Reserve University to ensure that our training programs prepare workers for the jobs of the 21st century and to help achieve President Obama’s goal to double the number of registered apprenticeship programs in the United States.”

The case study report will analyze firms with diversity in sector, occupation and geography to provide the business community with data on employer benefits and costs that has only ever been collected in overseas studies. Researchers will collect detailed information on the apprenticeship programs, associated costs and investments, and the apprentices’ performance and productivity to fill this critical gap in our understanding of U.S. apprenticeships.

This report also builds on the Administration’s agenda to support job-driven training, as President Obama continues to call on Congress to dedicate $2 billion to help states and regions double the number of registered apprentices over five years. The Apprenticeship Training Fund would provide grants for states and regions to launch comprehensive apprenticeship expansion strategies that would combine modest financial incentives and expert assistance to help employers launch or expand apprenticeship programs. In addition, the Training Fund would make investments in the formation of regional consortia to create new apprenticeships and increase participation in existing apprenticeship programs, helping expand access to apprenticeship for a broader swath of Americans.