Biden order expands federal apprenticeships, reestablishes labor-management forums

Government Executive

Erich Wagner

March 6, 2024

President Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order aimed at expanding federal agencies’ use of apprenticeship programs to attract and develop young federal workers, as well as reinstating agency labor-management forums that have largely sat dormant since 2017.

White House officials said the measure, entitled Scaling and Expanding the Use of Registered Apprenticeships in Industries and the Federal Government and Promoting Labor-Management Forums, dovetails with the recent push by presidents of both parties to shift how federal agencies evaluate job candidates from a largely based on educational attainment to one that emphasizes applicants’ relevant skills and work experience.

At an event in Madison, Wisc., Wednesday, Vice President Harris touted registered apprenticeship programs as a valuable way for young people to prepare them for good-paying careers at a time when college affordability is at an all-time low, as well as a strong example of the positive outcomes that are possible when unions and employers collaborate.

“Apprentice programs for labor and union apprenticeship programs also pay their apprentices while they’re in the program, which means that people don’t have to worry about whether they have to borrow money in order to receive an education that is for the benefit of the community and its productivity,” she said. “I say all that to say that this is another example of, also, the partnership between our administration and unions, around the apprenticeship programs that they create for young people to enter a profession, enter a career that means a very high quality of life for themselves and their families.”

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