The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of more than $121 million in Apprenticeship Building America grants to strengthen and modernize Registered Apprenticeship programs and enable workers to find a reliable pathway to the middle class. The department awarded more than $58 million of the total funding to grantees focusing on equity partnerships and pre-apprenticeship activities.
The Apprenticeship Building America grant program advances the department’s efforts to expand and modernize Registered apprenticeships by increasing the number of programs and apprentices, diversifying the industries that use Registered Apprenticeships, and improving the access to and performance of Registered Apprenticeship Programs for underrepresented and underserved communities.
“The funding of $121.7 million in Apprenticeship Building America grants reaffirms and advances the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to strengthening and expanding Registered Apprenticeships. The Apprenticeship Building America grants will develop new pathways to good-quality jobs and provide America’s workers with opportunities to access and succeed in those pathways, and the intentional focus on equity partnerships and pre-apprenticeship activities will create opportunities for underrepresented and underserved communities.”
Marty Walsh, Secretary of U.S. Department of Labor
Funding was awarded in four categories:
- State Apprenticeship System Building and Modernization.
- Expansion of Registered Apprenticeship Program Opportunities for Youth.
- Ensuring Equitable Registered Apprenticeship Program Pathways through Pre-Apprenticeship Leading to RAP enrollment and Equity Partnerships.
- Registered Apprenticeship Hubs to facilitate the establishment, scaling, and expansion of Registered Apprenticeship Programs in new and fast-growing industries and occupations.
This week the department awarded around $122 million in Apprenticeship Building America grants to programs across the country that will work to provide diverse workers with new skills and guaranteed pathways into good, in-demand jobs. The U.S. DOL also announced up to $140 million in funding available through Quality Jobs, Equity, Strategy, and Training grants to provide jobs and employment training and services for America’s unemployed and underemployed workers.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the American economy added 372,000 jobs in the month of June, and the unemployment rate remained at 3.6 percent for the fourth consecutive month. Since President Biden took office America has added over nine million jobs, and the private sector economy has now more than fully recovered from its pandemic-era job losses.
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