Employers already agree that work-based learning works. In a new Strada survey of 2,500 hiring leaders, 96% of employers that offer it called it somewhat or very valuable, and 81% offer at least one form of it. Even so, most host learners equal to 4% or less of their workforce.
The gap is capacity, not belief. Here is what the data says about why, and what employers say would close it.
Source: Employer Views on Work-Based Learning: What They Value and What Would Help Them Scale, Strada Institute for the Future of Work, October 2026. Strada surveyed executives and senior leaders responsible for hiring in October 2025 and March 2026. Work-based learning (WBL) here includes internships, apprenticeships, co-ops, clinicals, practicums, and project-based learning.
Employers trust work experience more than grades, even for entry-level jobs
When Strada asked employers to rate factors used to evaluate entry-level candidates, 85% called work experience important, the highest of any factor tested and ahead of every academic credential. Internship or apprenticeship experience was rated important by 61%, while a bachelor's degree was rated important by 56%.
The ranking exercise points the same way. For roles that require a bachelor's degree, employers were more than three times as likely to prioritize a candidate with work experience (a regular job, an internship, or project work) over a candidate distinguished mainly by a 4.0 GPA and academic awards. The GPA candidate made the top two just 16% of the time.
Strada expects this preference to grow as AI reshapes entry-level work. That is Strada's read of the trend, not a survey result, but Strada says it makes benchmarking existing WBL programs more urgent.
Employers care that the experience is real, less about how it is structured
Asked to split 100 points across the factors they use to assess college graduates, employers gave internship or apprenticeship experience 13.2 points and employment during college 13.1 points. Major or field of study led at 20.9 points.
In other words, employers read academic preparation as the baseline and work experience as practical proof on top of it. A structured program does not appear to beat a regular job in their eyes.
Strada flags an open question here: is experience a signal of job-specific skill, or of workplace readiness such as reliability and time management? If it is mostly the second, Strada notes that schools can build much of it without a formal internship placement. Strada separately suggests a credit-bearing workplace readiness course as one way to do that.
Why most employers stay small: cost and time, not buy-in
Employers do this for business reasons. The top reason for offering WBL is to find and train future workers (39%), followed by project support and extra capacity (32%). Only 15% put community impact first.
Still, only 29% of employers host learners equal to 5% of headcount or more. Strada grouped the barriers into three categories, and employers ranked their top two:
- Resource and operational constraints, ranked first or second by 71%. This covers stipends, wages, and insurance (26%), supervisor time (24%), and paperwork, legal requirements, and compliance tracking (19%).
- Business environment and ROI concerns, 58%. This covers market uncertainty and the difficulty of building an internal business case.
- Program design and talent fit, 50%. Within this category, difficulty finding candidates with the necessary baseline skills was the single most-cited barrier of all, at 36%.
Size matters too. Paid internships are offered by 55% of medium and large employers (250 or more employees) but only 29% of small ones. Strada says support matters most for small and midsize employers, which lack the internal capacity larger organizations already have.
What would help: money and practical support
Employers' proposed solutions map directly onto those barriers. Resource and operational support (tax credits, wage subsidies, training grants, and turnkey help with administration) and program design and talent-fit support (vetted candidate shortlists, curricula aligned to the skills employers need, and a role in co-designing training) tied at 58% each. Business case and ROI factors followed at 47%. These figures come from employers hosting learners equal to less than 5% of headcount, asked what would move them past that mark.
When Strada asked what employers would value most with costs set aside, three services led:
- Implementation and recruitment help, such as drafting job descriptions, sourcing candidates, and training supervisors (38%)
- Help building relationships with education and training providers (38%)
- Talent needs assessment (37%)
Administration support ranked last at 25%, behind program design and development (29%).
In health and education, licensure shapes the model
The format employers choose depends more on industry than size. Apprenticeships are the most common format in construction and natural resources (53%) and manufacturing (50%), while paid internships are common in information technology (56%) and finance and administrative services (46%).
In health, education, and social services, the most common format is the clinical, practicum, or student-teaching placement, offered by 41% of employers. Strada says that choice reflects licensure requirements more than employer preference. Only 31% of employers in that group offer apprenticeships.
Strada's advice for industry groups fits this pattern: tailor the playbook to each industry's WBL model, since the barriers are universal but the preferred format is not.
What Strada recommends for employers, educators, and policymakers
Strada says there is no single fix, and that scaling WBL takes coordinated commitments from several groups:
- Employers: Assess your existing early talent programs and how well they prepare future talent for your organization and industry. Identify core talent challenges and set metrics such as retention, engagement, and productivity to track progress.
- Educators and intermediaries: Build vetted candidate pipelines, prepare supervisors and mentors, help with program design, and handle the administrative work employers say they cannot manage alone. Prepare all students for WBL, not only those already well positioned, since first-generation students and students in programs without established employer pipelines risk falling further behind.
- Policymakers and funders: Underwrite the startup costs of scaling, not the ongoing program. Strada says public support has the greatest impact when targeted at small and midsize businesses, nonprofits, and high-growth-potential industries, and suggests funding pooled training methods that support multiple employers.
- Industry associations and sector partnerships: Convene employers around their industry's WBL model, spotlight examples from peer organizations, and provide benchmarks and data.
The bottom line
Strada's data points to a practical problem, not a belief problem. Employers value work-based learning, but cost, supervisor time, and difficulty finding candidates with the right baseline skills keep most programs small. The help employers say they want matches those barriers: financial support, vetted candidates, and practical help designing and launching programs.
Strada is clear that no single group can fix this alone. Scaling work-based learning will take employers, educators, and policymakers each doing their part. If you are working on your own program, schedule a call with Craft.
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