U.S. Department of Labor Announces Funding Availability For State Apprenticeship Expansion Grants

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor announced the availability of $73 million in State Apprenticeship Expansion Grants aimed at expanding apprenticeships throughout the country.

The State Apprenticeship Expansion Grants will fund innovations aimed at using Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) as a tool for developing the economy and building infrastructure for apprenticeships as well as baseline activities that improve states’ ability to serve, improve and strategically scale RAPs.

This funding opportunity also supports statewide RAP expansion through a two-tiered funding system that provides states with maximum flexibility to address local apprenticeship needs while enhancing the focus on employer engagement, performance and positive outcomes for apprentices.

• The first tier allows $450,000 for states and $300,000 for U.S. territories to engage in required activities to strengthen the structures supporting RAPs in their state.
• The second tier awards as much as $9 million for applications that demonstrate improvements and innovations to RAPs, increase the use of the RAP model, develop infrastructure through RAPs and address policy issues that impact the use of RAPs.

“In these challenging times, the U.S. Department of Labor remains committed to the belief that apprenticeship is vital to employers and job seekers,” said Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training John Pallasch. “This modified funding approach ensures that more money goes to those states that have demonstrated partnerships with employers and proven successful results for apprentices.”

Today’s announcement builds on recent funding made available to states to expand apprenticeship opportunities and seeks to further implement recommendations promulgated in the June 2017 Presidential Executive Order on Expanding Apprenticeship in America. In 2016, the department awarded $50.5 million in state apprenticeship expansion grants to expand RAPs to more workers and more companies and advance RAPs as an industry-driven, high-quality career pathway within states’ education and workforce development systems. 

Subsequently, the department also awarded $49 million in Fiscal Year 2017 and $73 million in Fiscal Year 2018 to support continued state apprenticeship expansion efforts.

Learn more about how states can apply for funding. Visit www.apprenticeship.gov to learn more about the department’s broader efforts to connect career seekers with apprenticeship opportunities and to expand apprenticeship into new sectors and industries.

ETA administers federal job training and dislocated worker programs, federal grants to states for public employment service programs and unemployment insurance benefits. These services are primarily provided through state and local workforce development systems.

The Department of Labor’s mission is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.