Reframing the Conversation Around Apprenticeship Degrees and Higher Ed
Release Date: 11/10/2025
One-to-One: Achieving Apprenticeship Success Through Thoughtful Development
Apprenticeship 2.0
In this episode, Joe chats with Matthew McKenney, President and CEO of JobForward. Together, they discuss Matt’s background as a welder and a CNC machinist apprentice, how that background connects to the work JobForward is doing now, the organization’s customizable-but-scalable approach to apprenticeship, overcoming complexities and upfront barriers in apprenticeship program development, how Matt and JobForward define and track success, opportunities to strengthen apprenticeship pathways moving forward, and much more. Music by from .
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Partnering to Cultivate Career Opportunities in Healthcare Tech Management
Apprenticeship 2.0
In this episode, Joe and guest co-host Dr. Holly Smith, Executive Director and Vice President of Apprenticeship Degree and Design at Reach’s National Center for the Apprenticeship Degree, chat with Courtney Kinkade, Vice President of Organizational Learning and Workforce Strategy at TRIMEDX, and Danielle McGeary, First Vice President of Healthcare Technology Management at the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI). Together, they discuss the partnership between TRIMEDX and AAMI in creating an apprenticeship program for aspiring biomedical equipment technicians...
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Year-End Roundtable – Part Two: Reporters
Apprenticeship 2.0
In this episode, part two of our two-part year-end roundtable series, Joe and guest co-host, journalist Paul Fain, chat with three of the top reporters in the apprenticeship space: Colleen Connolly, freelance journalist and regular contributor to Work Shift; Rebecca Griesbach, Senior Data Analyst at the Cowen Institute and former reporter for AL.com and Alabama Education Lab; and Kelly Field, freelance journalist and contributor to The Chronicle of Higher Education and The Hechinger Report. The discussions highlight the top developments in apprenticeship and job-embedded higher education from...
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Year-End Roundtable – Part One: Funder CEOs
Apprenticeship 2.0
In this episode, part one of our two-part year-end roundtable series, Joe chats with the top executives at four funders in the apprenticeship space: Keith Witham, President and CEO of Ascendium Education Group; Ruth Watkins, President of Postsecondary Education at Strada Education Foundation; Jamie Merisotis, President and CEO of the Lumina Foundation; and Julie Lammers, President and CEO of American Student Assistance. Keith and Ruth join Joe in the first half of the episode, and Jamie and Julie join Joe in the second half. The discussions highlight the top developments in apprenticeship...
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Between the Lines: Apprenticeship’s Role in a Changing Education Landscape
Apprenticeship 2.0
In this first-ever Between the Lines edition of Apprenticeship 2.0, Joe, Kiko, and Reach University Provost and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Anastasia Wickham discuss several recent news articles on apprenticeship and higher education. Joe, Kiko, and Anastasia discuss the potential impacts of these reports amid an evolving education environment in the United States. The articles are as follows: Music by from .
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AI Literacy and Innovation in Education and Job-Embedded Learning
Apprenticeship 2.0
In this episode of Apprenticeship 2.0, Kiko chats with Christopher Carter, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Approyo. Together, they discuss Bloomberg Intelligence’s projections for a rapidly growing AI market, the importance of AI literacy in apprenticeship and internships, how AI can help employers foster more effective apprenticeship opportunities, how companies like Apprenti are deploying innovative apprenticeship models, how one educator in North Dakota is embracing AI and helping to shape district AI policy, and much more. Music...
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Reframing the Conversation Around Apprenticeship Degrees and Higher Ed
Apprenticeship 2.0
In this episode of Apprenticeship 2.0, Joe and Kiko chat with Kelly Field, freelance journalist and author of The Slow Rise of the Apprentice Degree; Ryan Craig, Managing Director at Achieve Partners; and Dr. Pam Eddinger, President of Bunker Hill Community College in Massachusetts. Together, they discuss the impetus behind Kelly’s article, the National Center for the Apprenticeship Degree’s enrollment goal, funding at the federal and state levels, whether apprenticeship degrees dilute traditional degrees, why teacher apprenticeship degrees have seen such success, why community...
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Building Inclusive Career Pathways Through Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship 2.0
In this episode of Apprenticeship 2.0, Kiko and guest host Dr. Eric Dunker, Reach University’s Chief Advancement Officer and Senior Advisor to the National Center for the Apprenticeship Degree, chat with Nicholas Wyman, Founder and CEO of the Institute for Workplace Skills and Innovation (IWSI) America. Together, they discuss how Nick’s chef background led to him becoming an apprenticeship champion; IWSI America’s partnership with the California Department of Rehabilitation and the Ready, Willing & Able apprenticeship program, a statewide apprenticeship initiative connecting people...
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Nurturing Apprenticeship’s Rise in the Sunflower State
Apprenticeship 2.0
In this episode of Apprenticeship 2.0, Joe and Kiko chat with Shonda Anderson, Director of Internships and Apprenticeships at the Kansas Department of Commerce; Alise Martiny, Vice President of the Operative Plasterers’ & Cement Masons’ International Association; and Dr. Jennifer Seymour, Vice President of General Education and Applied Technologies at WSU Tech. Together, they discuss the recent success and immense growth of apprenticeship and employer participation in Kansas; the role of labor unions, state associations, and postsecondary technical institutions in the Kansas’...
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Reflections From ICAD 2025 – Part Two
Apprenticeship 2.0
In this episode of Apprenticeship 2.0, Joe and Kiko are joined by Dr. Eric Dunker, Co-founder of the National Center for the Apprenticeship Degree and Chief Advancement Officer at Reach University, and Dr. Anastasia Wickham, Provost and Chief Acadmic Officer at Reach. Together, they listen and react to four clips from a panel from the International Convening for the Apprenticeship Degree (ICAD) 2025 at the University of Oxford. The ICAD 2025 panel, titled Global Perspectives: Systems Level Reform Required to Scale Apprenticeship Degrees, was moderated by Dr. Mandy Crawford-Lee, Chief...
info_outlineIn this episode of Apprenticeship 2.0, Joe and Kiko chat with Kelly Field, freelance journalist and author of The Slow Rise of the Apprentice Degree; Ryan Craig, Managing Director at Achieve Partners; and Dr. Pam Eddinger, President of Bunker Hill Community College in Massachusetts. Together, they discuss the impetus behind Kelly’s article, the National Center for the Apprenticeship Degree’s enrollment goal, funding at the federal and state levels, whether apprenticeship degrees dilute traditional degrees, why teacher apprenticeship degrees have seen such success, why community colleges—not four-year institutions—are leading the way in apprenticeship degrees, and much more.
Read Kelly’s article, The Slow Rise of the Apprentice Degree in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Music by Evgeny Bardyuzha from Pixabay.