Jason Seedall of the Roosevelt Alliance explains why apprenticeships, skilled trades and practical workforce policies may be essential to rebuilding America’s middle class.
For generations of Americans, the expected path to success appeared relatively straightforward: attend college, earn a degree and find a stable, well-paying job.
That formula is becoming increasingly difficult to defend as the default option for every young person.
The rising cost of higher education, rapid advances in artificial intelligence and persistent demand for skilled workers are forcing Americans to reconsider how people prepare for their careers. For Jason Seedall, executive director of the Roosevelt Alliance, the answer may involve reviving one of the oldest forms of professional education: the apprenticeship.
Seedall joined The Intelligence Report to discuss the future of the American workforce, the decline of traditional middle-class career paths and the Roosevelt Alliance’s effort to bring practical policy conversations directly to Washington, D.C.
A Modern “Square Deal”
The Roosevelt Alliance is a nonprofit organization promoting policy and civic engagement inspired by the life and presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. Its work centers on three areas in which Roosevelt left a significant legacy: natural resources, foreign affairs and fair commerce.
“We try to put a little more Theodore Roosevelt into the modern political world,” Seedall explained.
The organization seeks to accomplish that through policy advocacy, public education, grassroots engagement and by bringing together people who may approach the same issue from very different perspectives.
That mission is reflected in the Theodore Roosevelt Dialogue Series, a new sequence of events designed to connect policymakers with entrepreneurs, industry experts, advocates and concerned citizens. The gatherings are expected to take place inside congressional buildings in Washington and focus on developing practical solutions rather than simply exchanging ideas.
Unlike a traditional annual conference, the series is intended to create an ongoing conversation. Participants will reconvene throughout the year, build upon previous discussions and examine whether proposed solutions have produced tangible results.
The inaugural event, “Building Wildlife Policy,” will bring together conservationists, agricultural leaders and policymakers to explore how the United States can protect wildlife while recognizing the economic and operational realities faced by farmers and ranchers.
The goal is not to eliminate disagreement. It is to create enough understanding for better policy to emerge.
Conservation advocates must recognize the importance of a strong domestic food system, Seedall said, while agricultural leaders should have access to realistic ways of making their operations more compatible with wildlife. Policymakers can then use those perspectives when developing legislation.
The Return of Apprenticeships
Another major focus of the dialogue series will be apprenticeships and their potential role in rebuilding the American workforce.
For much of the modern era, young Americans have been encouraged to view a four-year degree as the primary route to financial security. However, many students now leave college carrying debt while lacking meaningful professional experience or any guarantee of employment.
At the same time, employers across essential industries continue to struggle to find qualified workers.
Apprenticeships offer an alternative model. Participants can earn an income, gain practical experience and develop transferable skills without waiting years to enter the workforce. Those skills may lead to a long-term career, provide the foundation for starting a business or help someone support themselves while deciding what comes next.
The approach is already well established in parts of Europe, where young people can enter structured apprenticeships while completing their education.
Seedall believes the United States should examine those models as policymakers confront concerns surrounding affordability, labor shortages and technological disruption.
The underlying principle comes directly from Theodore Roosevelt’s promise of a “Square Deal”—the idea that every American should have a fair opportunity to build a secure and productive life.
College Is Not Disappearing
The case for apprenticeships is not an argument against higher education.
Doctors, lawyers, accountants, professors and many other professionals require extensive formal training. College remains necessary and valuable for people pursuing careers in those fields.
The problem is treating a bachelor’s degree as a universal requirement, regardless of whether the eventual career actually demands one.
Young people should instead determine what education, training or certification their chosen profession requires—and avoid assuming that the most expensive path is automatically the best one.
That calculation has become even more important as educational resources become widely accessible through digital platforms, online courses and artificial intelligence. Information that was once available primarily inside a classroom can now be accessed almost anywhere.
The value of practical experience is consequently rising.
Electricians, plumbers, welders, HVAC technicians, emergency medical personnel and other skilled workers remain essential to the economy. Many can earn strong incomes without assuming the cost of a four-year degree. Some eventually use their skills and industry experience to establish businesses of their own.
These professions helped build the American middle class. Seedall argues that expanding access to them could help restore it.
Technology Is Reshaping the Workforce
Artificial intelligence is also changing the types of jobs available to American workers.
For decades, the country increasingly emphasized white-collar employment while manufacturing and many traditional middle-class jobs moved elsewhere. The assumption was that a more educated workforce would transition into increasingly sophisticated and highly compensated careers.
That outcome has not materialized equally across the country.
Today, some white-collar positions face disruption from automation while employers continue searching for people capable of performing work that requires technical expertise, physical skill and real-world judgment.
The result is a changing definition of economic opportunity.
A young person entering a trade, developing expertise and eventually building a company may be following the American dream just as meaningfully as someone earning a degree and joining a major corporation.
The challenge is ensuring students understand that both paths exist.
Building Policy Through Conversation
The Roosevelt Alliance’s broader objective is to connect these workforce discussions with the people capable of turning them into policy.
Washington is often criticized for being disconnected from the everyday experiences of American workers and business owners. Bringing those individuals into the same room as lawmakers creates an opportunity to close that gap.
The organization’s events are designed to produce more than networking and short-lived enthusiasm. By gathering participants repeatedly, the dialogue series can revisit previous commitments, evaluate progress and refine potential solutions.
That approach may be especially valuable in policy areas where competing interests are frequently treated as irreconcilable.
Wildlife protection does not have to ignore the realities of agriculture. Workforce development does not have to force every student into the same educational system. New technology does not have to eliminate the possibility of stable middle-class careers.
But reaching workable solutions requires sustained conversation among people who do not always speak to one another.
For Seedall, that is where the Roosevelt Alliance can make its greatest contribution: convening people with different backgrounds and beliefs around a shared commitment to practical action.
The future of work will not be determined by a single policy, educational model or technological breakthrough. It will depend on whether the United States can provide people with multiple credible paths toward a good life.
Apprenticeships, skilled trades and alternative forms of education will not replace college. They can, however, restore something that has become increasingly difficult to find: a direct and affordable route from learning to meaningful work.
Listen to the full conversation with Jason Seedall on The Intelligence Report, hosted by Dylan Welch.
