In these closing days of the 116th Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives is considering legislation that will expand apprenticeships through the Office of the Apprenticeship and the National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships at the U.S. Department of Labor. As of this writing, the House is scheduled to consider H.R. 8294, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020, on the floor before adjournment for the year. It is yet to be determined, if the bill passes the House, whether the U.S. Senate will consider this bill or similar legislation prior to the end of the year.
In an earlier vote along partisan lines, the House Committee on Education and Labor approved the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020, which would invest more than $3.5 billion to create nearly one million new apprenticeship opportunities over the next five years. The legislation – which would update the National Apprenticeship Act for the first time since its enactment in 1937 – makes historic investments in workforce training to confront the sharp rise in unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) stated in his opening remarks during the Committee mark-up, “There is no better time than now to invest in this proven program to help people get back to work as tens of millions of workers continue to receive unemployment checks each week. The national apprenticeship system is well-suited to meet our current challenges. Apprentices begin earning wages on their first day of training and go on to develop in-demand skills and a nationally portable credential that is universally recognized by employers across the country.”
According to the Committee, the bill:
• Authorizes $400 million for fiscal year (FY) 2021, increasing by $100 million annually to $800 million for FY 2025, to:
- Support the creation or expansion of registered apprenticeships, youth apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeship programs, including in non-traditional apprenticeship occupations and for nontraditional populations.
- Encourage employer participation and recruitment for individuals with barriers to employment, including individuals impacted by the criminal justice system.
- Support national industry and equity intermediaries, and intermediaries at the regional or local level.
- Establish or expand educational alignment with programs under the national apprenticeship system.
- Codifies and streamlines standards for registered apprenticeships, youth apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs, including requirements for apprenticeship agreements and program registration to ensure consistency in quality standards and worker protections.
- Codifies existing regulations and practices to ensure that all individuals have an equal opportunity to participate in programs under the national apprenticeship system, and to increase diversity in the occupations offered and the individuals participating in programs, especially in high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand industry sectors and occupations.
- Codifies the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Apprenticeship, including roles and responsibilities such as:
- Increasing participation in programs under the national apprenticeship system through technical assistance and program recognition activities.
- Bringing together industry sector leaders and experts, including employers, industry associations, joint labor-management organizations, labor organizations, education and training providers, credential providers, and apprentices to establish national frameworks to expand apprenticeships to new occupations and sectors.
- Improving the data infrastructure to improve reporting and publicly disseminating information about apprenticeship programs.
- Codifying the National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships.
- Establishing the evaluation system for the national apprenticeship system to bring performance metrics in line with those of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
- Codifies the roles and responsibilities of the State Apprenticeship Agencies (SAAs) to include submission of plans and additional funding.
- Strengthens the connections between the Department of Education and Department of Labor through an interagency agreement to support the creation and expansion of youth apprenticeships, college consortiums, and data sharing agreements.
If the legislation does not move forward in the Senate, it is likely that this legislation will be re-introduced in the 117th Congress. The final run-off election outcomes for the control of the Senate could impact the future of the legislation.
