Expanding Apprenticeships in America
Record date: 2017-06-20
Executive Order 13801 of June 15, 2017 Expanding Apprenticeships in America By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to promote affordable education and rewarding jobs for American workers, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1 . Purpose. America's education systems and workforce development programs are in need of reform. In today's rapidly changing economy, it is more important than ever to prepare workers to fill both existing and newly created jobs and to prepare workers
What this record contains
- Federal Register document
- 2017-13012
- Publication date
- 2017-06-20
- Citation
- 82 FR 28229
- Issuing office
- Executive Office of the President
Official record excerpt
Executive Order 13801 of June 15, 2017 Expanding Apprenticeships in America By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to promote affordable education and rewarding jobs for American workers, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1 . Purpose. America's education systems and workforce development programs are in need of reform. In today's rapidly changing economy, it is more important than ever to prepare workers to fill both existing and newly created jobs and to prepare workers for the jobs of the future. Higher education, however, is becoming increasingly unaffordable. Furthermore, many colleges and universities fail to help students graduate with the skills necessary to secure high-paying jobs in today's workforce. Far too many individuals today find themselves with crushing student debt and no direct connection to jobs. Against this background, federally funded education and workforce development programs are not effectively serving American workers. Despite the billions of taxpayer dollars invested in these programs each year, many Americans are struggling to find full-time work. These Federal programs must do a better job matching unemployed American workers with open jobs, including the 350,000 manufacturing jobs currently available. Expanding apprenticeships and reforming ineffective education and workforce development programs will help address these issues, enabling more Americans to obtain relevant skills and high-paying jobs. Apprenticeships provide paid, relevant workplace experiences and opportunities to develop skills that employers value. Additionally, they provide affordable paths to good jobs and, ultimately, careers. Finally, federally funded education and workforce development programs that do not work must be improved or eliminated so that taxpayer dollars can be channeled to more effective uses. Sec. 2 . Policy. It shall be the policy of the Federal Government to provide more affordable pathways to secure, high-paying jobs by promoting apprenticeships and effective workforce development programs, while easing the regulatory burden on such programs and reducing or eliminating taxpayer support for ineffective workforce development programs. Sec. 3 . Definitions. For purposes of this order: (a) the term “apprenticeship” means an arrangement that includes a paid-work component and an educational or instructional component, wherein an individual obtains workplace-relevant knowledge and skills; and (b) the term “job training programs” means Federal programs designed to promote skills development or workplace readiness and increase the earnings or employability of workers, but does not include Federal student aid or student loan programs. Sec. 4 . Establishing Industry-Recognized Apprenticeships. (a) The Secretary of Labor (Secretary), in consultation with the Secretaries of Education and Commerce, shall consider proposing regulations, consistent with applicable law, including 29 U.S.C. 50 , that promote the development of apprenticeship programs by third parties. These third parties may include trade and industry groups, companies, non-profit organizations, unions, and joint labor-management organizations. To the extent permitted by law and supported by sound ( printed page 28230) policy, any such proposed regulations shall reflect an assessment of whether to: (i) determine how qualified third parties may provide recognition to high-quality apprenticeship programs (industry-recognized apprenticeship programs); (ii) establish guidelines or requirements that qualified third parties should or must follow to ensure that apprenticeship programs they recognize meet quality standards; (iii) provide that any industry-recognized apprenticeship program may be considered for expedited and streamlined registration under the registered apprenticeship program the Department of Labor administers; (iv) retain the existing processes for registering apprenticeship programs for employers who continue using this system; and (v) establish review processes, consistent with applicable law, for considering whether to: (A) deny the expedited and streamlined registration under the Department of Labor's registered apprenticeship program, referred to in subsection (a)(iii) of this section, in any sector in which Department of Labor registered apprenticeship programs are already effective and substantially widespread; and (B) terminate the registration of an industry-recognized apprenticeship program recognized by a qualified third party, as appropriate. (b) The Secretary shall consider and evaluate public comments on any regulations proposed under subsection (a) of this section before issuing any final regulations. Sec. 5 . Funding to Promote Apprenticeships. Subject to available appropriations and consistent with applicable law, including 29 U.S.C. 3224a , the Secretary shall use available funding to promote apprenticeships, focusing in particular on expanding access to and participation in
The excerpt is reproduced from the public federal record and may omit later sections, tables, signatures or attachments. Open the official source for the complete text.
Questions for accountability
- What legal authority does this economy action cite?
- Which agencies or officials were directed to act?
- What measurable implementation, cost, deadline or later court action followed?
How to use this page
This is a source-record entry, not a truth-rating by itself. It preserves the action, date and original government publication so it can be connected to later claims, implementation records, court decisions, costs and measurable outcomes. Editorial claim reviews on this site use separate finding labels and explain the evidence for those findings.