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65 percent of Americans born 1980–1984 received some form of training from ages 18 to 38

July 27, 2026

Overall, 65.4 percent of Americans born between 1980 and 1984 received some form of work training from age 18 to 38. Training by an employer and vocational, technical, or trade training were the most common types of training: 29.1 percent of Americans received training by an employer and 26.5 percent had vocational, technical, or trade training. These percentages varied by level of education attainment.

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Chart Data

Percent of individuals who received training from age 18 through age 38 in 1998–2023, by type of training and educational attainment
Educational attainment	Vocational, technical, or trade (VTT)	Employer training	School based	Training at work by outsider	Training outside of work	Government	Apprenticeship	Other
Total, all educational attainments	26.5	29.1	14.1	11.7	11.1	7.5	3.6	14.3
Less than a high school diploma	18.1	10.5	14.7	4.1	3.4	4.2	0.7	12.6
High school graduates, no college	32.3	21.8	11.9	5.9	5.8	5.2	5.5	10.9
Some college or associate degree	32.5	30.3	15.4	11.9	11.3	9.9	4.4	15.5
Bachelor's degree and higher	17.9	35.7	13.9	16.5	15.7	7.1	2.1	15.5
Note: High school graduates includes individuals with a high school diploma or equivalent (General Education Development (GED)) credential. Bachelor's degree and higher includes individuals with bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional degrees.

Among people with less than a high school diploma, 10.5 percent received employer training, while 18.1 percent received vocational, technical, or trade (VTT) training. Of those who completed high school (and did not attend college), 21.8 percent received employer training and 32.3 percent had VTT training. For those with some college or an associate's degree, 30.3 percent received employer training and 32.5 percent received VTT training.

The largest percentage of those receiving employer training, 35.7 percent, were those with a bachelor's degree or higher. At this level of educational attainment, 17.9 percent of Americans had VTT training.

These findings are from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, a nationally representative survey of about 9,000 men and women who were born during the years 1980 to 1984, from the BLS National Longitudinal Surveys. For more information, see, "Labor Market Experience, Education, Partner Status, and Health for Those Born 1980–1984." The survey respondents were between age 12 and age 17 when first interviewed in 1997 and were between age 38 and age 44 when interviewed for the 21st time in 2023–24.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, 65 percent of Americans born 1980–1984 received some form of training from ages 18 to 38 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2026/65-percent-of-americans-born-1980-1984-received-some-form-of-work-training-from-ages-18-to-38.htm (visited July 28, 2026).

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