Sponsors (35)
The bill directs modest, targeted federal funding to expand and improve construction and manufacturing apprenticeships—boosting recruitment, supports, credentialing, and accessibility—while creating administrative, eligibility, and scaling constraints (and modest federal cost) that could limit reach for some small providers and certain populations.
Workers and local employers: Authorizes $5 million per year (FY2026–2030) in federal grants to expand outreach, recruitment, and apprenticeship slots in construction and manufacturing, strengthening local labor pipelines and job opportunities.
Students from rural, first-generation, minority, nontraditional, and other underrepresented backgrounds: Targeted outreach and recruitment increase access to apprenticeship pathways in construction and manufacturing.
Apprentices and high-school pathway students: Expanded academic advising, ESL/mentoring, and health/family supports (mental health, SUD counseling, childcare) reduce nonacademic barriers and improve retention and completion in apprenticeship programs.
Smaller community groups and small apprenticeship sponsors: Application complexity, new accreditation/Title IV-related requirements, and reporting/admin burdens favor better-resourced applicants and impose costs that may exclude or strain small providers.
Large-scale intermediaries and statewide efforts: Per-award caps of $500,000 limit the ability of larger organizations to scale services across many sites, reducing the potential reach and impact of the grant program.
Registered apprenticeship programs that do not lead to postsecondary credentials or transferrable credits: Those programs may become ineligible, narrowing training options for participants and some providers.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Creates two grant programs to expand outreach, advising, and student supports for college‑sponsored construction- and manufacturing-oriented registered apprenticeships, authorizing $5M/year each for FY2026–2030.
Introduced July 22, 2025 by Angela Craig · Last progress July 22, 2025
Creates two small federal grant programs to grow and support construction- and manufacturing-focused registered apprenticeship programs at colleges. One grant program funds student and employer outreach (capped at $500,000 per award) and prioritizes connecting high schools, local employers (especially in rural, exurban, and suburban areas), workforce boards, and apprenticeship intermediaries to reach nontraditional and underrepresented students. The other program funds academic advising and student supports for apprentices, also capped at $500,000 per award, and requires grantees to report on participation and outcomes for underrepresented groups. Both programs define eligible recipients as institutions of higher education that sponsor accredited construction- or manufacturing-oriented registered apprenticeship programs, authorize $5 million per year for each program for FY2026–FY2030, and require applications, priorities for underrepresented populations, and reporting on activities and outcomes.