Federal Task Force Submits Apprenticeship Plan

The Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion submitted a final report to the President Donald J. Trump providing a 23-point strategy to create more apprenticeships in the United State.

Members of the task force – representing business, labor, trade and industry groups, educational institutions, and public officials – approved the report during their fifth and final full meeting.

“The current half a million apprentices are simply not enough to fill the more than 6 million unfilled jobs at U.S. companies in today’s labor market,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “This thoughtful, practical strategy will make 2018 an inflection point that helps solve today’s labor market challenges and creates the workforce of the future.”

The Final Report details the 26 recommendations. Some of the highlights include:

• Creating portable credentials for apprentices.
• Increasing awareness and support of vocational training as an alternate career path.
• Build brand awareness of apprenticeship.
• Streamlining the apprenticeship process.
• Increasing funding opportunities for programs and participants.
• Create industry-recognized apprenticeship programs with industry committee oversight.
• Evaluating programs to industry-developed standards of performance.
• Explore and encourage competency model with stackable, portable skill certifications to allow workers to build up skills over time.
• Create a pilot program in a sector without existing registered apprentice programs to start the process, allow evaluation, and implement change.
• Industry-recognized apprenticeship programs would not meet Davis-Bacon Act requirements and have exemptions from other registered apprentice program wage and hour rules.
• Maintaining and improving existing registered apprentice programs in existing successful programs such as construction-related trades.

The final report maintains the current construction industry model for registered apprentices.