I can't afford to go back to school. I can't stop working. So how am I supposed to change careers?
If those questions feel familiar, please know you’re not crazy. Most training programs assume you can pause your income, take on debt, and wait months or years before seeing a return. For a lot of workers, that's not a pause. That's a cliff.
Apprenticeships and Earn and Learn programs are built around a different assumption: that you shouldn't have to choose between paying your bills today and building a better career tomorrow. You train while you work. You earn while you learn. And you come out the other side with credentials and experience, not a certificate and a hope.
Let’s look at what these programs look like on the SkillUp platform:
Most job training programs ask you to pause your life and hope the credential pays off on the other side. Work-based learning flips that model.
Apprenticeships pair structured, on-the-job training with nationally recognized certifications. You're building skills in a real work environment with a clear roadmap for what comes next.
Earn and Learn programs take a similar approach: you're employed from day one, earning a paycheck while gaining the training your employer offers.
For people who can't afford to put life on hold, these programs are often the most practical way to change careers.
Both pathways are especially well-suited for people who've built real-world skills outside of a traditional four-year degree through work history, military service, community experience, or simply figuring things out on the job. Work-based learning meets people where they already are.
Earn and Learn programs are exactly what they sound like: you get hired, you start earning, and your employer invests in your training along the way.
Think of someone starting as a customer service rep at CVS while working toward a healthcare credential. They're building industry knowledge, making connections, and earning a paycheck, all before the training is even finished.
Earn and learn jobs are a lower-stakes entry point for people who need income stability while making a career move, and it signals that the employer is willing to invest in the people they hire, not only the skills they arrive with.
While Earn and Learn roles have historically made up about 5% of all jobs in the SkillUp catalog, that 5% has translated to more than 32,000 roles over the last three years. And 24% of all job referrals on SkillUp have been to Earn and Learn positions. This is a sign that users are actively seeking this kind of opportunity.
Users engage most with these roles:
Earn and Learn opportunities cut across many fields, but a few industries dominate:
Geographically, Earn and Learn opportunities are concentrated in the Midwest and South; Detroit, Chicago, Houston, and Dallas top the list. One more notable data point: one-third of all Earn and Learn referrals on SkillUp came from users aged 18–24. Younger workers are finding their footing here.
Apprenticeships make up 10% of the programs in SkillUp's training catalog; currently, 578 opportunities from 403 providers. That number shifts monthly as new regions launch and program audits are completed, so it's worth checking back often.
Cost is one of the biggest barriers when people consider a new training program. Here's some good news: 90% of apprenticeship programs on SkillUp are free, and 10% are under $10,000. That's a wide-open door for people who assumed this kind of training was out of reach.
SkillUp users engage most with tech and skilled trades, and the most popular apprenticeship programs reflect that:
Whether you're drawn to working with your hands or building a tech career, there's a clear on-ramp here that doesn't require a degree to get started.
The highest concentration of apprenticeship programs on SkillUp is in Seattle, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Baltimore. If you're in or near one of these cities, your options are particularly strong.
The top three providers users connect with are Apprenti, Year Up, and the Urban Technology Project, which are all organizations with strong track records in workforce development.
Unions lead the way, accounting for 63% of apprenticeship programs on the platform. Short-term training providers account for 19%, and community colleges round out the top three at 16%.
It's worth pausing on that last one. Community colleges are often associated with two-year degrees, but they run some of the strongest apprenticeship programs in the country, and they're built to serve local market needs. Community college programs currently represent 16% of SkillUp's apprenticeship catalog and 64% of all short-term training programs on the platform.
Numbers are one thing. But does work-based learning change how people feel about their job search?
SkillUp's Pulse Survey data gives a clear answer. Among respondents enrolled in apprenticeship programs, the average age is 20, and 58% said they feel more confident in their job search compared to peers in traditional training programs. For non-apprenticeship users enrolled in a program, the average age is 43, and only 43% reported feeling confident.
That 15-point gap is worth sitting with. Confidence in a job search shapes whether someone sends the application or closes the tab, how they show up in an interview, and how long they stay in the process before convincing themselves it's not going to work out.
There are a few reasons work-based learning might produce that kind of confidence.
For younger workers especially, who are often navigating a job market for the first time and may not have a degree to fall back on as a signal of readiness, that grounding makes a measurable difference.
SkillUp's work-based learning catalog is growing. With support from GitLab Foundation, the platform is adding vetted apprenticeships through apprentice.gov, so you get access to even more verified options to browse alongside everything else that's already there.
If your interests are in business, nursing, or healthcare, more Earn and Learn and apprenticeship programs in those fields are on the way too, because the path to a better career shouldn't only run through skilled trades. Whatever direction you're heading, the catalog is being built with that in mind.
If you've been wondering whether a traditional degree is the only way forward, the short answer is… nope! Apprenticeships and Earn and Learn programs offer industry-recognized credentials, good income, and career momentum without putting your life on hold to get there.
Browse training programs on SkillUp →
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