The U.S. Department of Labor announced Monday that sponsors of Registered Apprenticeships can now apply for upwards of $6,000 direct payments per apprentice through the Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program.
The program is made up of six different incentive funds administered by a mix of state governments, university trustees and several different private foundations and associations, including Jobs for the Future, the Wireless Infrastructure Association and the ASE Education Foundation.
Relevant apprenticeship programs span the gamut from information technology to shipbuilding and defense to semiconductor production and telecommunication.
DOL has been particularly focused on apprenticeship funding of late; this announcement was paired with an announcement Friday by President Donald Trump of a $40 million grant from DOL that will be administered by Florida’s Department of Commerce.
The Trump administration announced in February that it sought to expand the Pay-for-Performance apprenticeship incentive program via a $145 million grant that it would award to organizations interested in taking part.
In that announcement and several others, DOL has emphasized particular interest in apprenticeships in the shipbuilding and the defense industrial base, artificial intelligence, semiconductor and nuclear energy infrastructure sectors.
DOL also recently granted over $81 million in funding to rural communities across the Appalachian, Delta and Northern Border regions, with focus upon skilled trades and construction, healthcare, information technology, manufacturing, domestic energy production, and business and professional services.
Upskilling has been a central concern for industry watchers as AI swiftly changes jobs and prompts massive data center builds across the country.