From Construction Dive – By Carolyn Crist –
The Registered Apprenticeship program in certain U.S. industries is getting another boost from the White House, as the Biden-Harris administration continues to announce investments in workforce development to provide job access to women, people of color, veterans and other historically marginalized workers, according to a July 11 announcement from the White House.
As part of the administration’s broader Investing in America plan, the investments are intended to create training pipelines for in-demand jobs, regardless of college degree.
“To do that, the Administration launched nine Investing in America Workforce Hubs across the country that are bringing together unions, local governments, employers, training providers, schools, community colleges, and other stakeholders to facilitate partnerships to train and connect workers to jobs in high-demand sectors,” according to the announcement.
First Lady Jill Biden launched five Workforce Hubs last year—Columbus, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Augusta, and Phoenix — which generated dozens of actions to expand pre-apprenticeships and Registered Apprenticeships, train thousands of workers for good-paying union jobs, and expand community college programs. President Biden announced four new Workforce Hubs this year — upstate New York, Michigan, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia.
As part of the Workforce Hub in Columbus, Ironworkers 172 Columbus will increase its Registered Apprenticeship program from 150 to 250 in the next two years. IBEW 683 Columbus will expand its Registered Apprenticeship program from 600 to 1,000 over the next four years. Plumbers and Pipefitters 189 Columbus, Sheet Metal Workers 24 Columbus, and Roofers 86 Columbus all ware also expanding their training facilities to meet the demand driven by these investments.
Jill Biden traveled to Columbus July 12 for a Workforce Hub announcement there, which also included Columbus State Community College’s project to work with partners across Ohio to quadruple the number of students trained for engineering technology jobs over the next five years.
Nationwide, new investments in pre-apprenticeship programs aim to double the number of people moving into registered apprenticeships and increase apprentice retention rates. The funding is slated to reach communities across 32 states.
Additional funding will support the Registered Apprenticeship program, including public-private partnerships across in-demand fields, such as clean energy, advanced manufacturing, IT and cybersecurity, and K-12 education.
Although apprenticeships remain outside the mainstream in the U.S., they’ve received more attention in recent years, particularly as part of Biden administration expansions. The apprenticeship programs are intended to serve as another avenue to fill talent gaps and build pipelines, particularly in industries that don’t receive high interest from younger workers.
However, earlier in 2024, Republican lawmakers told the U.S. Department of Labor that a proposed rule about the Registered Apprenticeship program would disincentivize small businesses from participating in the workforce development. The lawmakers complained about administrative requirements, including mandatory disclosures and required adoption of a time-based model for apprenticeship completion.
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