FOUNDATIONS BACK APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS: This is very good news. But it also needs to be kept in mind that apprenticeships work better for some jobs than for others. The key tends to be that employers need to know that they will get a return on their investment in the apprentice’s education. Put differently, they need to know that after they spend their time teaching the apprentice he won’t skip out and work for a competitor (which can offer higher wages because it doesn’t have to finance its own apprenticeship program) before the agreed-upon term is over. In practice, alas, it means that jobs that require licenses are best suited for apprenticeships. I am not a fan of unnecessary licenses; we already have too many. On the other hand, if we want businesses to finance apprenticeship programs, the incentive to complete the apprenticeship in order to get a license helps.