Biden Administration Announces Investments in Apprenticeships and Workforce Development
The Biden-Harris administration is expanding the Registered Apprenticeship program in specific U.S. industries and investing in workforce development to increase job access for women, people of color, veterans, and other historically marginalized groups, according to a July 11 announcement from the White House.
As part of the broader Investing in America plan, these investments aim to create training pipelines for in-demand jobs, regardless of college degree. “To do that, the Administration launched nine Investing in America Workforce Hubs across the country that are bringing together unions, local governments, employers, training providers, schools, community colleges, and other stakeholders to facilitate partnerships to train and connect workers to jobs in high-demand sectors,” the announcement stated.
In 2023, the Biden administration launched five workforce hubs in Augusta, Georgia; Baltimore; Columbus, Ohio; Phoenix; and Pittsburgh, expanding pre-apprenticeships and registered apprenticeships, training workers, and supporting community college programs. This year, four new hubs will start in upstate New York, Michigan, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia.
As part of the July announcement, Philadelphia introduced new efforts to build workforce development pipelines to attract workers. For example, the Geographic and Economic Hiring Preference program aims to hire 50% of apprentices and 20% of journeypersons on certain public works projects from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods across the city, ensuring 200 new apprenticeships in underserved communities.
Nationwide, new investments in pre-apprenticeship programs aim to double the number of people moving into registered apprenticeships and increase apprentice retention rates. The funding is set to reach communities across 32 states.
Additional funding will support the Registered Apprenticeship program, including public-private partnerships across in-demand fields such as clean energy, advanced manufacturing, IT and cybersecurity, and K-12 education.
Although apprenticeships remain outside the mainstream in the U.S., they’ve garnered more attention in recent years, particularly through Biden administration expansions. The apprenticeship programs are designed to fill talent gaps and build pipelines, especially in industries that don’t attract high interest from younger workers.
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