Vice President Harris to travel to Wisconsin to highlight Biden-Harris Administration’s investments in Registered Apprenticeships and pipelines to good jobs

Today, Vice President Harris will travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to announce the Biden-Harris Administration’s Executive Order to Expand Registered Apprenticeships, which will help create more Registered Apprenticeship programs in the federal workforce, encourage agencies to provide preferences on projects to recipients that hire individuals who have participated in Registered Apprenticeship programs, and increase worker voice for federal programs and contracts.

The Executive Order implements a key recommendation of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, which is chaired by the Vice President.

Registered Apprenticeships are a proven strategy to expand equitable training pathways to good-paying jobs, including union jobs. Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has invested more than $440 million to expand the capacity of the Registered Apprenticeship system, supporting the education and training needs of more than 1 million apprentices across the country. The new efforts announced today will help ensure Americans have the skills and training they need for the good jobs created by the President’s Investing in America agenda, which includes the American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act. Vice President Harris will highlight the announcements in the Executive Order while meeting with registered apprentices at the construction site of the future Madison Metro Transit facility.

The Scaling and Expanding the Use of Registered Apprenticeships in Industries and the Federal Government and Promoting Labor-Management Forums Executive Order would:

  • Expand Registered Apprenticeships (RAs) in the Federal Workforce: The EO directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Department of Labor, and other Federal agencies to explore opportunities to reduce barriers and create pathways into and up through Federal employment using Registered Apprenticeships. The EO directs OPM and DOL to issue a report within 180 days detailing potential occupations for expanding Federal RAs and further authorities that OPM should consider to expand Federal RAs.
     
  • Promote and Expand the Use of Registered Apprenticeships through Grants and Contracts: The EO directs Federal agencies to identify where they could include requirements or incentives for grant recipients or contractors to employ workers who are or were participating in RA programs, and, in appropriate cases, directs those agencies to require, incentivize, or encourage those requirements or incentives.
     
  • Re-Establish Labor Management Forums (LMFs): LMFs are a tool used by union members and management, acting together, to jointly improve their workplaces. This Executive Order will re-establish labor management forums within the federal government to ensure workers have a voice.

The EO builds upon nearly $200 million in funding opportunities the Administration recently made available to expand, diversify and strengthen Registered Apprenticeships nationwide. In February, the Department of Labor announced availability of $95 million in competitive grants through the Apprenticeship Building America, as well as $100 million for the State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula Grants.
The new EO also complements existing White House Investing in America workforce initiatives, including:

  • Workforce Hubs. In May, the White House designated five Workforce Hubs—Augusta, Baltimore, Columbus, Phoenix, and Pittsburgh— where the Investing in America agenda is catalyzing historic private and public investments and creating good-paying jobs. In these regions, the Administration partnered with state and local officials, employers, unions, community colleges, and other stakeholders to ensure a skilled and diverse workforce to meet the demand for labor driven by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act. The Workforce Hubs catalyzed thousands of new union construction jobs and hundreds of new Registered Apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship spots, and are providing a replicable model for other areas around the country.
     
  • Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Sprint. The President’s Investing in America agenda creating strong demand for skilled advanced manufacturing workers in clean energy, biotechnology, semiconductors, and more. To help meet this demand, the Administration led the Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Sprint, an intensive drive to build a diverse, skilled pipeline of workers for good advanced manufacturing jobs, including union jobs, many of which do not require a four-year college degree. In January, the White House announced new commitments to the Sprint, including 150 new advanced manufacturing-related Registered Apprenticeship programs and occupations have been created or are newly under development, and more than 4,700 new apprentices hired in advanced manufacturing occupations.

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