Many people have studied and written about Switzerland's youth apprenticeship system, and there are good reasons to do so. The Swiss economy has been called the most innovative in the world. Switzerland's students significantly outperform U.S. students in scholastic achievement. Its youth unemployment rate is lower than in the United States. Apprenticeships are not a minor add-on existing on the margins of the Swiss education system. Instead, youth apprenticeship is an integral, fundamental feature of that system--and one with far-reaching, positive effects on Swiss society. Swiss apprenticeships typically require four years of training and a high level of technical skill that is agreed upon by industry leaders in a single, national framework. The intensity, length of time, and high level of skill also contribute to the student's feelings of trust and safety: the apprenticeship path is not a decision to exit postsecondary education and to be less skilled or less prepared to earn a good wage. The author had the opportunity to study the apprenticeship system up close, while meeting with a wide range of apprentices, employers, apprentice teachers, and parents when she was part of team who designed and launched the Colorado approximation of the Swiss youth apprenticeship system. She found several characteristics of Switzerland's educational system stand out as particularly important to Americans hoping to reform the U.S. educational system.