The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing entitled “Registered Apprenticeship: Scaling the Workforce of the Future.” The witnesses included: (1) Brent Booker, General President of the Laborers’ International Union of North America; (2) John Downey, General President of the International Union of Operating Engineers; (3) Gardner Carrick, Vice President of The Manufacturing Institute; (4) Latitia McCane, Director of Education at The Apprentice School, Newport News Shipbuilding; and (5) Josh Laney, CEO of the Competency-Based Education Network.
During the hearing, Senators and witnesses raised several issues related to apprenticeship programs, including the impact of the Trump Administration’s suspension of certain energy and infrastructure projects on training opportunities. There was additional discussion of the administrative and compliance costs faced by small and medium-sized businesses that sponsor registered apprenticeship programs—and how such costs could be reduced. Senators also focused on strategies to attract more young people to pre-apprenticeship and technical education programs, as well as on the importance of wraparound supports such as childcare, which witnesses said could help increase participation and completion rates in apprenticeship programs.