Labor Awards First Federal Apprenticeship Grants

On September 8, U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez announced the department’s award of the American Apprenticeship Initiative grants. In making the announcement, Secretary Perez stressed that the American Apprenticeship Initiative is the department’s first direct investment in this on-the-job training model. [View Full Press Release]

According to Labor, annual federal funding for apprenticeships usually supports only the administrative and regulatory work of the registered apprenticeship system. Apprenticeship sponsors, such as employers, unions and joint committees, typically fund and provide the training. Looking to increase the prevalence of this form of job-linked learning, DOL officials hoped that the grant funding would become an incentive for employers, unions and other stakeholders to increase the number of apprenticeships.

When the Employment and Training Administration solicited applications for these grants back in December, the agency anticipated using $100 million from H-1B visa fees to fund about 25 awards ranging from $2.5 to $5 million. The announced awards totaled $175,799,846 to 46 grantees, 11 of which were made at the $5 million award ceiling. This was made possible because the agency received more H-1B visa fee revenue than anticipated. A list of grantees can be found here.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor