White House Releases Executive Order on Registered Apprenticeships
Published March 08, 2024
President Biden signed an executive order to expand registered apprenticeships, which will help create more Registered Apprenticeship programs in the federal workforce, encourage agencies to provide preferences on projects to recipients that hire individuals who have participated in Registered Apprenticeship programs, and increase worker voice for federal programs and contracts.
The order would:
- Expand Registered Apprenticeships (RAs) in the federal workforce by directing the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Department of Labor, and other Federal agencies to explore opportunities to reduce barriers and create pathways into and up through Federal employment using Registered Apprenticeships. It also directs OPM and DOL to issue a report within 180 days detailing potential occupations for expanding Federal RAs and further authorities that OPM should consider to expand Federal RAs.
- Promote and expand the use of RAs through Grants and Contracts by directing Federal agencies to identify where they could include requirements or incentives for grant recipients or contractors to employ workers who are or were participating in RA programs, and, in appropriate cases, directs those agencies to require, incentivize, or encourage those requirements or incentives.
- Re-establish Labor Management Forums (LMFs). LMFs are a tool used by union members and management, acting together, to jointly improve their workplaces. The order will re-establish labor management forums within the federal government to ensure workers have a voice.