Apprentice Nation: How the Earn and Learn Alternative to Higher Education Will Create a Stronger and Fairer America

College isn't for everyone. It's time to challenge the status quo and embrace the potential of apprenticeships: a more inclusive, affordable, and sustainable pathway to economic opportunity.

For decades, college has been the only respectable way to access the world of work, despite paralyzing tuition and a dire lack of practical skills that has left 40 percent of college graduates underemployed, unfulfilled, and struggling to repay student loan debt.

Fortunately, college is not America's only option. In Apprentice Nation, education and workforce expert Ryan Craig explores how a modern apprenticeship system will allow students and job seekers to jumpstart their careers by learning while they earn -- ultimately leading to greater economic opportunity, workforce diversity, and geographic mobility.

Readers will learn:

• The history behind America's outdated college system, from the inception of the Ivy League to the recent student debt crises and admissions scandals
• Why apprenticeships are such an effective pathway to career opportunity
• Why America lags so far behind other countries when it comes to apprenticeship opportunities and what we can do to catch up
• Where students and job seekers can go to land an apprenticeship

With an easy-to-reference directory of US apprenticeship programs by industry and geography, Craig's Apprentice Nation is an accessible blueprint for a country where young Americans of all backgrounds can launch careers in tech, healthcare, finance, and more--without losing four critical, career-building years and tens of thousands to college tuition and student loans. With just a few common-sense changes to education and workforce development, an apprentice nation will place the American Dream within reach--for everyone.