Craft Education and WGU Expand Apprenticeship Degree Pathways

WGU has acquired Craft Education, an education technology company, to accelerate the expansion of apprenticeship and embedded job programs. The acquisition is intended to broaden access to career opportunities by integrating paid work, practical training, and academic progress into degree pathways.

The transaction took place in the Fall of 2024. Craft Education specializes in apprentice-based programs and provides a platform designed for establishing, monitoring, reporting, and facilitating on-the-job training that aligns with work-ready skills and degree programs.

WGU intends to utilize Craft Education’s technology products across its entire ecosystem. This integration will apply to the university’s existing certificate and degree offerings in four primary sectors:

• Healthcare
• Technology
• Business
• Education

As part of the organizational structure, Craft Education will be integrated into a nonprofit division of WGU. The university has indicated that the technology platform will be made available to all higher education institutions to support the growth of work-based learning.

The platform serves as a data science tool specifically built to track and assess learning that occurs during employment. By facilitating the reporting of on-the-job learning, the technology allows for a more structured alignment between professional experience and academic requirements.

Dr. Eric Dunker of the National Center for Apprenticeship Degrees noted the significance of the move regarding the university’s strategic direction.

WGU signaled its commitment to the Apprenticeship Degree by acquiring Craft Education, a data science platform purpose-built to track, assess, and report on-the-job learning in Apprenticeship Degree programs

Dr. Eric Dunker, National Center for Apprenticeship Degrees

The expansion of these apprenticeship degree pathways is designed to combine the financial benefit of paid work with the formal requirements of an academic degree. This model aims to provide students with practical training and academic progress simultaneously.