The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® and IBM created the CTA Apprenticeship Coalition, a collaborative effort by CTA member companies to create and expand hundreds of apprenticeship opportunities nationwide and prepare American workers for careers in fast-growing fields such as software engineering, data analytics, project management and hardware design.

Coalition members will draw upon IBM’s apprenticeship program —launched in 2017 and registered with the U.S. Department of Labor— to help them develop and scale their own in-house programs.

Apprenticeships are a proven, time-tested approach to skills training. They help businesses recruit and create a skilled and diverse workforce and unlock opportunities for students and mid-career professionals looking to advance in a rapidly changing job market. The coalition's mission is to create a national corps of skilled workers who will fill millions of open new-collar jobs in communities across the country, not only in traditional tech hubs on the coasts.