Strengthening and scaling apprenticeships to promote economic growth

May 1, 2026

JPMorganChase is dedicated to expanding opportunity by helping people build pathways to good jobs and long-term career success. Through JPMorganChase’s American Dream Initiative—a multi-year effort to help expand opportunity to millions of Americans and future generations through targeted investments in local communities across the United States—the firm will help accelerate and scale local solutions that help people secure good jobs.

Apprenticeships are a highly effective method for helping individuals advance into well-paying employment opportunities, equipping them with the skills, experience and credentials that set them up for long-term career success. They also allow people to earn money while gaining those skills and credentials, eliminating a major financial barrier to career advancement. The average starting salary for an apprentice who completes a program is $86,000, and apprentice graduates earn $300,000 more over their lifetime compared to peers who don’t graduate from apprenticeship programs.¹

Strengthening U.S. security and resiliency

The impact of apprenticeships extends beyond individual career advancement—they are also essential to strengthening the industries that underpin our nation's economic competitiveness and security. In October 2025, JPMorganChase launched its Security and Resiliency Initiative, a $1.5 trillion, ten-year plan to facilitate, finance, and invest in industries critical to national economic security and resiliency. However, without a talent pipeline, capital cannot translate into production. For example, the U.S. is projected to need 320,500 new welding professionals by 2029.² America’s talent shortage is a national security risk, constraining defense production, semiconductor manufacturing, expanded energy production, and technological leadership. Apprenticeships are one way to address this challenge—providing pathways into skilled trades and, increasingly, to careers in technology and other industries that are critical to U.S. security and resiliency.

Commitment to preparing people for the future of work

The firm is dedicated to scaling apprenticeships through its own business operations and philanthropic commitments as part of a broader focus to prepare people for the future of work. Since 2018, JPMorganChase has committed more than $20 million to support the creation of apprenticeship programs nationwide and now supports more than 10 apprenticeship programs globally across areas such as operations, finance, and technology; building on this momentum—including the firm’s $3.5 million commitment announced in 2023 to scale programs nationwide—JPMorganChase continues to strengthen and expand apprenticeships across the country while drawing on global best practices.

Supporting policies to advance apprenticeships

Recognizing the critical role of apprenticeships in supporting the American Dream and U.S. security and resiliency, JPMorganChase is committed to advancing policies that strengthen apprenticeship programs. For example, the firm supports simplifying and streamlining the registration process for employers to address administrative barriers—such as having to re-register programs in multiple states—to incentivize employer participation in Registered Apprenticeship programs. Additionally, standards for programs can be modernized without sacrificing quality to recognize different industry approaches to skilling. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), the law that focuses on strengthening the nation’s public workforce system, can be reauthorized to expand access to employer-based training, including apprenticeships. Policymakers should also consider how Workforce Pell, need-based grants to low-income students pursuing short-term credentials, can be used to support apprenticeships and other types of work-based learning. During National Apprenticeship Week and beyond, JPMorganChase remains committed to advancing policies and initiatives that increase access to apprenticeships, enabling more people to step directly into good jobs and build successful careers.