Skip to content
‹ Back to IndustriesEducation Technology

Is Apprenticeship the Key to Bridging the Experience Gap in Education?

This episode of 'The Future of Education: Class Disrupted' examines apprenticeship as a transformative alternative to traditional college pathways. Guest Ryan Craig, Managing Director at Achieve Partners, argues that apprenticeships uniquely bridge the experience gap in education by offering paid, on-the-job training with built-in career progression. The conversation explores how these programs can level the playing field and better prepare students for the modern workforce.

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Education Technology teams put it to work with Executive Thought Leadership.

Promoted content from The Future of Education with Michael Horn on MarketScale.

By Michael B. Horn · · Achieve PartnersDiane TavennerEducation SolutionsFuture of Education: Class Disrupted
Share

Key takeaways

01

Apprenticeships are jobs first — they provide a living wage alongside formal and informal training, distinguishing them from unpaid internships or classroom-only education.

02

Ryan Craig argues apprenticeship is the only alternative pathway that truly levels the playing field for students who cannot afford or benefit from traditional college.

03

Bridging the experience gap requires rethinking workforce development as an integral part of educational reform, not a separate track.

Free workspace

Turn your Education Technology expertise into content.

Record interviews, organize footage, and write with AI on a free trial of the MarketScale platform for qualifying companies. No demo required, no credit card.

Try it Free

Apprenticeship could be the perfect solution to moving the needle and bridging the experience gap in education.

As education stands at a crossroads between educational reform and workforce development, how can apprenticeship programs revolutionize the approach to equipping the next generation for the evolving job market?

In an insightful episode of The Future of Education: Class Disrupted, hosted by Michael B. Horn and Diane Tavenner, guest Ryan Craig, the Managing Director at Achieve Partners, explores the transformative potential of apprenticeships. This discussion teases a critical perspective on apprenticeship as a viable alternative to the traditional college pathway, highlighting its role in addressing the experience gap in education today.

"Apprenticeship is really the only alternative pathway that truly levels the playing field because it's a job," Craig said. "An apprenticeship is a job, first and foremost, where you're being paid a living wage and you have built in formal and informal training as well as wage and career progression with the apprenticeship."

An apprenticeship is a job, first and foremost, where you're being paid a living wage and you have built in formal and informal training as well as wage and career progression with the apprenticeship.
— Ryan Craig, Managing Director at Achieve Partners

This statement underscores the unique value of apprenticeships in providing practical, paid experience alongside education, thereby equipping individuals with the skills and expertise needed in the modern workforce.

The Future of Education with Michael Horn

Part of this channel

The Future of Education with Michael Horn

Michael Horn interviews the people redesigning how students learn

Visit the channel

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Education Technology starts with a company putting its implementation leads, instructional designers, and district partners on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Procurement teams read long before they ever call, and your implementers get to answer their questions first.

Book DemoSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.

About the author

Michael B. Horn
Michael B. HornSpeaker, Writer & Advisor on the Future of Education, Clayton Christensen Institute

Michael Horn speaks and writes about the future of education and works with a portfolio of education organizations to improve the life of each and every student. He is the co-founder of and a distinguished fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, and host of the Future of Education podcast on MarketScale.

B2B Weekly

The week in Education Technology, and sixteen other industries, every Monday.

Ten stories, one-line takes, five minutes. Free.

Education Technology: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Education Technology buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Free Trial

You just read one Education Technology expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your implementation leads, instructional designers, and district partners into the articles, video, and social content Education Technology buyers are searching for. Start a free trial and see it with your own people. For qualifying companies, no credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What your free trial includes

Hands-on access to the MarketScale platform
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
No demo required. No credit card.
For qualifying companies. Company confirmation required.

More Education Technology Insights

AI didn't break integrity, it exposed credentialism

AI didn't break integrity, it exposed credentialism

Phil Hill argues AI is exposing a preexisting higher-ed flaw: institutions built around credentials rather than demonstrated learning. In his view, better cheating detection won’t solve it; schools need clearer assessment of what students can actually do, drawing on competency-based education, authentic assessment, and frameworks like the University of Sydney’s two-stream model for AI-allowed and AI-excluded work.

  • 01Credentialism—treating the credential as the goal rather than evidence of learning—creates incentives for shortcuts that existed before AI; students pursue credentials as boxes to check rather than milestones in learning.
  • 02States like Michigan and Texas are redefining postsecondary credentials to include skill certificates alongside degrees, but broader definitions only matter if assessment measures actual learning, not just completion.
  • 03Hill’s three learning-centered models include competency-based education, authentic assessment, and the University of Sydney’s two-stream assessment framework.

Oct 6, 2026

Lewis University picks Ellucian Student to support its 2026–2029 strategic plan

Lewis University picks Ellucian Student to support its 2026–2029 strategic plan

Lewis University, which serves more than 7,000 students, will move to Ellucian Student, HCM and Finance. The rollout runs through Project Tailwind, a key part of the university's 2026–2029 Taking Flight strategic plan. The release lists support for a growing population of traditional, online, workforce and lifelong learners among the platform's goals.

  • 01Excelsior University deployed Scholarship Universe early while its Ellucian Student implementation is still ongoing.

Oct 2, 2026

CoSN tells school districts to plan for adoption before they buy new tech

CoSN tells school districts to plan for adoption before they buy new tech

CoSN's 2026 Blaschke Report and companion toolkit give K-12 districts a plan for technology change. Its main point is timing. Districts should define the problem, the success measure and staff workload before procurement, then run rollouts through change champions and a council that reviews significant technology changes.

  • 01CoSN’s toolkit pushes planning before procurement: define the problem, affected groups, timeline, and success measures, and account for competing initiatives and implementation fatigue.
  • 02The toolkit urges leaders to account for competing initiatives and implementation fatigue before procurement or a districtwide rollout.
  • 03After launch, districts should track adoption indicators, review feedback and help requests, keep refresher training going, and conduct a post-implementation review.

Oct 2, 2026

Explore More Education Technology Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Education Technology.

Browse Education Technology Hub

About the Experts

Michael B. Horn headshot
Michael B. Horn

Co-founder, Clayton Christensen Institute; Author and Education Researcher

Clayton Christensen Institute

Michael B. Horn is a co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation and a leading voice on the future of education and disruptive innovation. He is the author of several books on education reform, including 'Disrupting Class' and 'Choosing College.' Horn hosts the podcast 'The Future of Education: Class Disrupted' and advises educators, policymakers, and entrepreneurs on transforming learning.

RC
Ryan Craig

Managing Director

Achieve Partners

Ryan Craig is Managing Director at Achieve Partners, an investment firm focused on workforce-oriented education and training. He is an advocate for apprenticeship and alternative pathways to employment and is the author of works examining the gap between higher education and workforce readiness.

DT
Diane Tavenner

Co-host; Founder and CEO

Summit Public Schools

Diane Tavenner is the founder and CEO of Summit Public Schools, a network of charter schools in California and Washington. She co-hosts 'The Future of Education: Class Disrupted' alongside Michael B. Horn and is a prominent advocate for personalized learning and education reform.

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Education Technology and beyond.

Book a Demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512