The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced Tuesday that it will pilot a pay-for-performance model in awarding $145 million to support registered apprenticeships in selected industries. The announcement comes a few weeks after DOL said it would provide $35.8 million to Arkansas to pilot a national performance-based registered apprenticeship program for advanced manufacturing.
The Trump administration said that both programs are part of the president’s directive to meet and exceed 1 million active apprentices nationwide.
“By broadening the use of the pay-for-performance model, the Trump Administration is taking decisive action to accelerate our expansion of Registered Apprenticeships,” Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a release.
Six key industries
The department will award up to five cooperative agreements for a four-year period of performance, focusing on growing newly developed registered apprenticeships, as well as expanding existing programs across industries, according to the release. The new program will also emphasize incentivizing industries with well-established registered apprenticeship infrastructure.
The industries DOL will focus on are:
- AI/semiconductor/nuclear energy infrastructure build-out
- Shipbuilding and defense industrial base
- Information technology
- Healthcare
- Transportation
- Telecommunication
The department also plans to award one cooperative agreement to rapidly scale registered apprenticeships by providing incentive funding to program sponsors that is tied to increases in the number of cohort apprentices. DOL noted this agreement will help to expand apprenticeships in industries not stated above.
DOL expects to release application details by month’ end, which a deadline around March 20.
Apprenticeships for America and the America Forward Coalition will host a webinar on pay-for-performance apprenticeships on January 21.
Pre-apprenticeships, too
Last week, DOL also announced the availability of $98 million to develop pre-apprenticeships in high-demand industries such as construction, advanced manufacturing, information technology and healthcare. The funding will come through the department’s YouthBuild Program, which provides academic support, occupational skills training and employment services to young adults ages 16 to 24 in communities with unemployed youth.
The program will fund about 57 individual grants, ranging from $1 million to $2 million. DOL noted that the program also advances artificial intelligence education for youth by requiring applicants to incorporate AI literacy skills in the education component of the program and encouraging the same in occupational skills training. Community colleges are eligible to apply. The application deadline is March 2.
