Sponsors (11)
This bill aims to expand and improve equitable, higher-quality pre-apprenticeship pathways and give states data to target gaps, but it shifts costs to states/taxpayers, increases administrative burdens, and includes eligibility and implementation details that may limit scale and timeliness of benefits.
Students and low-income individuals will face lower up-front costs because States can cover tuition, fees, textbooks, equipment, and curriculum costs for related instruction, reducing financial barriers to entering pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships.
Young adults, students, unemployed workers, and employers gain clearer, more direct pathways into skilled jobs because completers of pre-apprenticeships can enter qualified apprenticeships and States receive data on in‑demand occupations lacking apprenticeships to guide program development and employer partnerships.
Trainees will receive higher-quality and safer instruction because programs must include safety-supervised hands-on training and industry-aligned curricula, improving skills and workplace safety for participants.
State governments and taxpayers face new costs because the Federal share is limited (20%–50%), requiring State or private matching funds, and the total federal appropriation is $90 million over six years, which could strain state budgets and increase taxpayer burdens.
State agencies and the Department of Labor will face substantial new administrative burdens — detailed applications, reporting, performance measures, and coordination with Perkins/WIOA — while grants limit administrative spending (max 10%) and the funding allocation is vague, risking strained implementation capacity, delays, and weak accountability.
Apprenticeship programs, employers, and participants may be constrained because eligibility is limited to certain 'qualified apprenticeships' concentrated in smaller sectors and pre-apprenticeship rules prohibit displacing paid employees, which can exclude larger apprenticeship sectors and complicate employer participation and placement logistics.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Creates competitive state grants for tuition assistance to expand pre-apprenticeships in occupations that underuse apprenticeships, requires a Labor Dept. study, and authorizes $15M/year for 2026–2031.
Introduced March 3, 2025 by Rosa L. Delauro · Last progress March 3, 2025
Creates a federal program to expand pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship-related instruction in occupations that currently use apprenticeship least, and funds competitive state grants to provide tuition assistance for those programs. Directs the Labor Department to study and report which in-demand occupations lack qualified apprenticeship use and how the apprenticeship model is or could be applied. Authorizes $15 million per year from FY2026–FY2031 to carry out the law.