DOL Awards $162M to Expand Registered Apprenticeship in Key Industry Sectors

Public Investment Targets the Registered Apprenticeship Talent Gap

In July, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded nearly $162 million to expand Registered Apprenticeship in shipbuilding, defense, and AI, semiconductor, and nuclear infrastructure. These are the same fields driving enterprise capital spending right now. It’s a signal that public investment is starting to chase the same talent gap private capital is already colliding with.

The funding comes through five cooperative agreements to expand Registered Apprenticeship in occupations critical to the administration’s reindustrialization agenda.

How the Pay-for-Performance Model Works

The department’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) will administer the five Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program cooperative agreements. The recipient organizations will lead nationwide efforts to train thousands of Americans for jobs in shipbuilding, the defense industrial base, and emerging technology sectors.

This performance-based model links federal funding directly to measurable outcomes. Registered Apprenticeship sponsors receive incentive payments as their apprentices reach verified retention and progression milestones.

Registered Apprenticeship is an earn-while-you-learn training model. It culminates in increased pay, a postsecondary credential, and skills that drive both personal and American economic prosperity. At least 85% of each award flows directly to eligible Registered Apprenticeship sponsors across all states and territories.

ETA will work closely with the awardees over the summer to implement their projects. Eligible sponsors are expected to begin applying for incentive funds in the fall.

Alignment With National Workforce Priorities

These awards align with the Trump administration’s America’s Talent Strategy and its goal of reaching and surpassing 1 million new active apprentices nationwide.

They also advance the department’s work to implement presidential executive orders related to expanding Registered Apprenticeship, including:

• Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future
• Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth
• Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance
• Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base

The program will prioritize expanding high-quality Registered Apprenticeship programs on a national scale, specifically in industries with firmly established apprenticeship infrastructure. It also prioritizes growth in shipbuilding and the defense industrial base, advancing America’s Maritime Action Plan.

The Five Award Recipients

• Florida Department of Commerce ($40 million): Supports a nationwide incentive program through a consortium led by the State Workforce Board and CareerSource Florida for the defense industrial base, shipbuilding, and maritime manufacturing sectors.
• Jobs for the Future Inc. ($40 million): Supports Registered Apprenticeship growth in roles building and maintaining the critical infrastructure that sustains artificial intelligence, semiconductor, and nuclear energy industries.
• Wireless Infrastructure Association ($29.9 million): Rapidly expands Registered Apprenticeships in the telecommunications sector, leveraging its national sponsor network and existing presence in all 50 states and two territories.
• The Trustees of Clark University ($27 million): Creates a national Pay-for-Performance initiative, led by a broad consortium of key stakeholders, to expand high-quality apprenticeship opportunities in information technology.
• ASE Foundation ($25 million): Builds sponsor capacity to help employers establish, scale up, and sustain automotive and truck service technician apprenticeships through per-technician incentive funding.

Building a Pipeline of Skilled Workers

Grantees will build durable partnerships with national and regional industry associations and employers. This ensures broad industry buy-in and scalable models.

They will also coordinate with other department-funded entities, including states and industry intermediaries supporting Registered Apprenticeship expansion. The goal is to align efforts, reduce duplication, and accelerate apprenticeship growth in occupations critical to national priorities.

Building on the momentum of the American Manufacturing Apprenticeship Incentive Fund, the Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program signals the department’s continued focus on strengthening the National Apprenticeship System. It aims to build a pipeline of skilled workers that powers businesses and workers across the nation.

Workforce Remains Fundamental to Location Strategy

Workforce has always been one of the most important considerations in site selection. A company can have an attractive site, favorable operating costs and a compelling incentives package, but if it cannot recruit, train and retain the people required to operate the business, the location will not deliver the intended result.

What is changing is the level of investment being made to strengthen talent pipelines and the opportunities companies have to incorporate those resources into their location and expansion strategies.

For executives considering a new facility, expansion or relocation, that raises an important question:

Are you evaluating locations based solely on the workforce available today, or are you also considering each market’s ability and commitment to develop the workforce your operation will need tomorrow?

That distinction matters.

A community with strong employer partnerships, apprenticeship programs, educational institutions and workforce development resources may provide something considerably more valuable than a lower wage rate: greater confidence that the talent pipeline can support both the initial project and future growth.

Those workforce resources should also be evaluated alongside the broader project economics. State and local tax credits, training grants, infrastructure assistance and other business incentives can significantly affect the cost of an investment. The strongest location strategy considers how those resources work together to support the company’s workforce, operational and financial objectives.

This is where a disciplined site selection and incentives strategy can create significant value.

Before committing to a location, companies should understand not simply which communities can accommodate the project, but which location can present the strongest overall business case based on workforce, operating costs, infrastructure, speed-to-market, scalability, risk and incentives.

If your organization is contemplating a new facility, significant expansion or capital investment, bring your site selection and incentives advisor into the conversation before the location decision is made. An experienced advisor can help identify and compare markets, uncover risks that may not be apparent initially, create meaningful competition among jurisdictions, and negotiate an incentives package aligned with the financial goals of the project.

And timing matters. Once a location is selected or announced, much of the competitive leverage that can help produce a stronger financial outcome has been lost.

The objective isn’t simply to find a location where your business can operate. It is to identify the location where your people and your business can succeed, grow and deliver the strongest long-term return on the investment.

The information contained herein is general in nature and is not intended and should not be construed as legal, accounting, or tax advice or opinion provided by Ashmore Consulting LLC to the reader. The reader is also cautioned that this material may not be applicable to, or suitable for, the reader’s specific circumstances or needs and may require consideration of non-tax and other tax factors if any action is to be contemplated. The reader should contact Ashmore Consulting LLC or another tax professional prior to taking any action based upon this information. Ashmore Consulting LLC assumes no obligation to inform the reader of any changes in tax laws or other factors that could affect the information contained herein.