Gender and Racial Training Gaps in Oregon Apprenticeship Programs

Abstract

This study uses microdata to measure three types of training gaps by gender and minority status in Oregon apprenticeship programs: probability of graduation, time to graduation, and the quantity of training acquired by quitters. Apprentices who started training between 1991 and 2002 are tracked through 2007. After adjusting for individual, institutional, and occupational attributes, the authors find that white women apprentices were substantially less likely to graduate than white men, but the duration of training was shorter for the few women who graduated. White women dropouts received a much lower quantity of skills than white men although they stayed in the program as long as the white men did. Minority men did not face significant disadvantages relative to white men. Apprentices in union-management jointly sponsored programs were more likely to complete requirements than those in unilateral employer programs. White women and minority men benefited disproportionately more from training in union programs. However, the time to graduation is shorter in nonunion programs, which suggests that the latter allocate resources more selectively across apprentices. Yet those who quit do not appear to have acquired a sufficient quantity of skills to be able to obtain high-skill jobs.