The US Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has announced the availability of $42.5 million in Youth Apprenticeship Readiness grants to support the enrollment of in-school or out-of-school youth apprentices (ages 16-24) into new or existing registered apprenticeship programs (RAPs).
“These apprenticeship grants offer communities the opportunity to make targeted investments today that will fuel future economic growth, by enabling young people to earn a living while learning critical job skills at the same time,” said US Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia.
ETA intends to fund approximately 15 to 25 Youth Apprenticeship Readiness grants, with awards ranging from $1 million to $5 million. The amount of grant funding an applicant can receive will depend on the proposed number of youth enrolled in RAPs.
“The importance of providing multiple pathways to career success cannot be overstated,” said John P. Pallasch, assistant secretary for employment and training. “For too long, higher education was seen as the only path, but we know that’s not the only or best choice for many young adults. This investment in youth apprenticeship is key to helping broaden understanding of career options, and to giving these young adults an on-ramp to apprenticeship.”
In June 2017, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order on Expanding Apprenticeship in America, focusing on expanding apprenticeships to secondary and post-secondary institutions, and increasing youth participation. This grant program supports the president’s Executive Order and ETA’s goals to expand access to youth apprenticeships, to promote pre-apprenticeship programs and to develop a strong youth apprenticeship pipeline.
As a critical step toward advancing high-quality registered apprenticeship programs in the US, these funds will be awarded to the lead entity of a youth apprenticeship partnership that seeks to partner with business and industry to develop new RAPs or expand existing RAPs.
Through this grant program, the partnership will directly engage educational entities, including traditional, alternative and nontraditional schools, as well as programs that serve out-of-school youth, school boards, workforce boards, employers, workforce partners and other apprenticeship intermediaries, to develop comprehensive approaches to establishing new apprenticeship models for youth or expanding existing apprenticeship programs for youth. Specifically, the funds will support training for thousands of underrepresented youth for apprenticeships in new and nontraditional occupations or expanded apprenticeship programs.
Information on how eligible applicants can apply for funding can be found at www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=325965. Also, visit www.apprenticeship.gov to learn more about the department’s broader efforts to connect career seekers with apprenticeship opportunities and expand apprenticeship into new sectors and industries.
