The unemployment rate among American youths was 12.2 percent in January 2015 - twice the national average. To combat high unemployment among this demographic, Volkswagen executives are advocating learn-on-the-job apprenticeships, similar to what is done in the German educational system.

In the U.S., programs like these have decreased by 40 percent over the past decade, because businesses tend to fear that workers will leave once finished with their apprenticeships and put their skills to use elsewhere. However, Volkswagen is proving this wrong. So far, all but two apprentices at VW’s Chattanooga plant have left for other jobs, while the rest have stayed on as full-time employees.

Students at the plant split their time between classroom-simulated training and working on the production floor, and get paid $10 an hour, with $1 increases each time a worker completes a semester. Once finished with the program, graduates are offered positions at the plant. The program works largely in VW’s benefit, since it gives workers the skills necessary to perform complex, technical jobs that might go unfilled otherwise.

Back in 2012, there were 600,000 unoccupied jobs in the U.S. manufacturing industry due to a lack of skilled workers. VW sees paid apprenticeships as a smart solution to this dilemma, as it gives companies a way to keep their factories filled with skilled employees.