Six Predictions For Education And Workforce In 2025

As the great Yankees Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra said, “It’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.”

Nonetheless, tis the season for predictions in the new year. I’ve got a few for 2025 that cross the K–12, higher education, and workforce silos. So, without further adieu, here are six predictions for you.

1. Might 2025 finally be the year of apprenticeships in America? After all, there is bipartisan support for them. But for America to go back to the future and party like it’s the 18^th century, more legislation will likely have to move that offers funding for each apprentice hired—Pell grants for apprenticeships anyone?—so that intermediaries can meaningfully enter the market and derisk things for companies wary of hiring unproven employees. Either way, though, expect apprenticeships to gain steam in the new Trump administration. GenZ’s suspicions of high-cost colleges and search for other pathways into good jobs—especially career and technical education—aren’t going away. Nor are pushes in states like Indiana to make apprenticeships more mainstream in industries like healthcare and life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and banking and financial services.

2. Along those lines, expect states to continue making career exploration and work-based learning a bigger and bigger priority in 2025 for middle and high school students.