The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a funding opportunity of up to $145 million for organizations interested in administering its Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program to further expand the national apprenticeship system.
The department’s Employment and Training Administration will award up to five cooperative agreements to organizations for a four-year period of performance focusing on the expansion of newly developed Registered Apprenticeships, as well as the growth of existing programs across industries. The program will also place an emphasis on incentivizing industries with a well-established Registered Apprenticeship program infrastructure.
“This groundbreaking federal program demonstrates the Trump Administration’s commitment to strengthening Registered Apprenticeships as the premier, high-quality solution to boost America’s skills development pipeline,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer. “Expanding Registered Apprenticeship opportunities will help even more American workers thrive in high-demand jobs and bring home paychecks they can be proud of.”
The Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program aims to stimulate innovation and reduce barriers that prevent Registered Apprenticeship sponsors from committing to developing or scaling their programs. While the funding opportunity announcement has a basic set of parameters and structure, applicants are encouraged to propose the incentive model that is best suited for their target industry. This initiative is aligned with Trump Administration’s America’s Talent Strategy and its goal of reaching and surpassing 1 million active apprentices nationwide.
The department plans to award these cooperative agreements focused on Registered Apprenticeship expansion in industries including shipbuilding and defense industrial base; artificial intelligence, semiconductor, and nuclear energy infrastructure; information technology; healthcare; transportation; and telecommunications.
“President Trump has an ambitious goal to register one million apprentices across the country – which will prepare Americans for the high-paying, skilled trade jobs of the future,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “We are proud to partner with the Department of Labor to not only implement America’s Talent Strategy, but also to reduce barriers for employers and apprentices to enter in-demand industries.”
The department is particularly interested in expanding Registered Apprenticeship for occupations in shipbuilding and defense and intends to make an award for this industry, contingent on receiving a quality application. In addition, the department plans to award one cooperative agreement that focuses on rapid scaling of the Registered Apprenticeship system. They plan to achieve this by providing incentive funding to program sponsors that would be tied to achieving a substantial increase in cohort apprentices across all industries or subsectors not covered under other the pay-for-performance program.
The Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program expands on the recently announced American Manufacturing Apprenticeship Incentive Fund, a $35.8 million initiative with Arkansas aimed at expanding high-quality Registered Apprenticeship programs in advanced manufacturing across the country. It also will facilitate funding for Registered Apprenticeships for small/mid-sized employers who might not otherwise pursue federal grant funds.