Earn & Learn

At least one in six young adults in the United States are disconnected from school and work and the total lifetime taxpayer costs of all of the disconnected youth in the New Orleans metro area is estimated to be between 3.1 to 4.1 billion. The Earn and Learn Career Pathways Program provides young people aged 18 to 24 with a paid apprenticeship, college credit-bearing coursework, and academic, soft, and technical skills training, and wraparound support to succeed along their pathways to success. Participants work for and are paid by Tulane over the course of a year, while also taking accelerated courses taught by Bard Early College of New Orleans and technical and academic skills training through the Accelerated Career Education program at Delgado Community College.

Participants in the Earn and Learn program focus on one of two high-growth sectors: Skilled Crafts/Advanced Manufacturing or Creative Digital Media/IT. Upon completing the program, participants will receive an industry-based credential and program staff will help them to connect to employment and further educational opportunities. The Earn and Learn program is modeled on a market-driven approach: by providing young people with employment opportunities and professional development support, Tulane prepares them for jobs in high-demand industries. By establishing an intensive workforce-training program, Tulane seeks to strengthen New Orleans’ human capital pipeline as well as foster prosperity in local young people's lives. Program participants spend approximately 40 hours a week in the program: 20 hours a week working for Tulane and 20 hours in the classroom engaged in academic, technical, and social emotional coursework.

• For the past three years, Campus Services has partnered with the Earn and Learn program.  Participants enrolled in the Earn and Learn program can work within Campus Services in the units of Facilities Services or the Technology Connection computer store.  Students are paid by Tulane while serving as skilled crafts/advanced manufacturing or technology repair apprentices. At the same time, apprentices also receiving career-focused technical and academic skills training in order to access greater educational and job opportunities by the time they leave the program.
• In order to continue to improve the level of training apprentices receive while in the program, Tulane Facilities Services and the Earn and Learn team are currently exploring a partnership with The National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER). This partnership would greatly improve the amount of training the apprentices receive and increase the number of certifications that Earn and Learn apprentices could receive during the course of their apprenticeship.
• With this partnership, Tulane would be able to become an accredited NCCER site that would be able to offer portable Skilled Crafts credentials to young people. It also allows Tulane the ability to track the qualifications of their Facility Services professionals and offer professional development opportunities for continuous growth.
• Technology apprentices have received Apple Certified Macintosh Technician (ACMT) certification while working in a retail technology environment.

To learn more about the Earn and Learn Program through Tulane's Cowen Institute, click here.