ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT IVANKA TRUMP AND LABOR SECRETARY ALEXANDER ACOSTA: “TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED APPRENTICESHIPS WILL KEEP AMERICA WORKING”

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 25, 2019 ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT IVANKA TRUMP AND LABOR SECRETARY ALEXANDER ACOSTA: “TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED APPRENTICESHIPS WILL KEEP AMERICA WORKING” “We live in an age of acceleration, and the skills required for today’s jobs are changing more rapidly with each passing year. America needs to adapt its approach to skills education and be more nimble and responsive to the pace of change across all industries.”   Trump Administration’s industry-recognized apprenticeships will keep America working  By Ivanka Trump and Alexander Acosta Miami Herald June 24, 2019 … Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, 5.4 million jobs have been created and more people are working in America than ever before. The unemployment rate has dropped to 3.6%, the lowest rate since 1969, and last year, we saw the highest share of people entering our labor force from the sidelines since we started tracking in the early 1990s. Through the White House’s Pledge to America’s Workers, job creators around the nation have committed to nearly 10 million training, upskilling or reskilling opportunities for American students and workers. … Our nation needs to empower more industries and professions to embrace apprenticeship opportunities. That is why the Trump administration is proposing a second apprenticeship model: the Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship. The Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship program would stand alongside the Labor Department’s existing Registered Apprenticeships, which have found success in the building trades. This program would enable industries to come together through associations, consortia, nonprofits and other mechanisms to offer skills education to American students and workers. … By the end of June, the Department of Labor will award $183 million to consortia of businesses and educational institutions to support Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship programs in sectors where apprenticeships are not widespread, such as technology, health care and advanced manufacturing. The department will also continue to fund the apprenticeship course Congress has specifically appropriated for the program. … We need opportunities to empower individuals to work and learn simultaneously so that students and workers of all ages and backgrounds can earn a living — and at the same time acquire the skills that will enable them to thrive in their current and future careers. Read the full op-ed here.