To strengthen registered apprenticeship programs (union apprenticeship programs are “registered”), the U.S. Labor Department announced in February it had halted the duplicative non-union apprenticeship system that the department says could reduce quality, strip protections for apprentices, and cause confusion for industry. DOL has suspended applications for Standards Recognition Entities in the Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program. The agency also relaunched the federal Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship.
On March 18, the Labor Department announced it is making $87.5 million in grants available to states for use in expanding and diversifying their registered apprenticeship programs. Read more here and here.