Surely improving the economy overall will help young adults without college degrees, as a rising tide lifts many boats, but how can these young adults be better prepared to enter the labor market even when the economy isn’t booming? Even during recessions, there are decent jobs that go unfilled due to a lack of qualified applicants. How can education and industry leaders work together more closely to target high-demand occupations that pay good salaries and formalize pathways into jobs in these sectors? Countries like Austria, Germany, and the United Kingdom are achieving good success with vocational training, apprenticeship programs and placements for their young adults in industries as varied as nursing, information technology, and advanced manufacturing. There certainly seems to be untapped potential for the United States to follow in their footsteps, yet we have mused about the European apprenticeship model for decades—what would it take to actually take some steps in this direction?