Are Apprenticeships Programs Effective?: Lessons for Latin America and the Caribbean

Author
Pérez-Dávila, Yocelyn Samantha
Date
Jul 2017
The purpose of this paper is to provide information that contributes to the decision to implement apprenticeships in the region. To this end, we present global evidence of the effectiveness of apprenticeships. In particular, we present a review of the impact evaluations of these programs on labor outcomes, taking into account the different applied methodologies and their according level of rigor. Overall, the results suggest that apprenticeships –whether integrated into the country's education systems or not- show positive effects on individuals and firms. However, the evidence of rigorous evaluations is scarce, particularly in Latin American and the Caribbean countries. While the implementation of apprenticeships in the region is potentially beneficial, especially if the lessons learned from other countries with a long tradition of implementing these programs are integrated, there is a need to generate more evidence regarding their effectiveness.