▶ 0:05:36The subcommittee on higher education and workforce development will come to I know the quorum is present. Without objection, the chair is authorized to call recess at any time. Across [clears throat] the country, millions of Americans are looking for pathways into long-lasting careers. Employers are searching for workers with the key skills and ability to adapt to a rapidly changing labor market.
▶ 0:05:56Workers increasingly need opportunities to build new skills throughout their For too long, the conversation around career success has focused on a single pathway to work through a traditional four-year college education. What was not factored was our country's workforce is far too varied and our economy is far too dynamic for Apprenticeships and workforce work-based learning offer a different model.
▶ 0:06:21One that allows individuals to earn while they while they learn, gain hands-on experience, and build skills that employers actually need. One that also helps business develop talent, strength strengthen local economies, and create opportunities for workers and learners without requiring significant debt before entering the While apprenticeships have long been associated solely with skilled trades, today's apprenticeship models are expanding into the healthcare, education, information technology, cybersecurity, advanced
▶ 0:06:51manufacturing, and other emerging industries. They're also seeing new approaches that better integrate education and work. Apprenticeship degree programs that combine classroom instructions with paid structured on-the-job learning allow learners to earn academic credentials while gaining real world world experience. These models recognize that learning and work do not have to be siloed, and they can offer another pathway for individuals to build skills while progressing toward a degree.
▶ 0:07:20Researchers estimate that 40% of the skills required for today's jobs will change over the next next decade. That reality presents a challenge not only for workers, but also for employers who need talent that's able to adapt to changing business needs. Traditional model for education followed by decades
▶ 0:07:38Excuse me. In a single role is significantly less common than once than it once was. In today's economy, workers increasingly need opportunities to upskill, reskill, and acquire new competencies as they The rapid adoption to an artificial intelligence is only making that need The Trump administration understands the strength of earn and learn models, and the Department of Labor has made apprenticeship expansion a work The department has taken steps to streamline program
▶ 0:08:09administration, increase transparency, and reduce barriers to employer participation. This while supporting the growth of apprenticeships in both traditional trades and emerging fields uh through AI apprenticeship portals. The administration has also promoted innovative apprenticeship models in areas such as artificial intelligence and advanced technology, and it emphasized result-driven workforce investments that focus on outcomes for workers and employers alike.
▶ 0:08:37Today's hearing gives us an opportunity to examine on how apprenticeship models are helping meet new workforce challenges. We'll hear from workforce leaders who are building innovative pathways that prepare prepare workers for jobs of today and tomorrow.
▶ 0:08:51We'll also discuss barriers that continue to limit employer participation and consider new policy makers consider ways new that the policy makers can support high-quality employer-driven earn and learn opportunities while preserving flexibility and innovation. As as industries evolve and technology reshapes the workforce place, the need for rapid continuous skill and development will only grow.
▶ 0:09:18Apprenticeships provide a proven way to help workers acquire new skills, help employers build a talent pipelines, and ensure our workforce can adapt to the demands of the changing economy. With that, I yield to the ranking member for her opening statement.
▶ 0:09:33Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to our witnesses for joining us today. Right now, many Americans are facing an economy that just is not working for them. President Trump and Trump and congressional Republicans reckless economic policies are forcing working families to do more with less. Americans are struggling to afford housing, groceries, and gas. According to a recent Gallup poll, less than half of Americans can afford health care. Americans are struggling to keep their heads above water.
▶ 0:10:01As the cost of living continues to rise, we must ensure that every worker can access a good paying job, gain the skills required to thrive in today's economy. Registered apprenticeships are one of the best models of job training that we have to ensure that workers work to ensure the workers economic security.
▶ 0:10:22Each year, hundreds of thousands of workers come complete a registered apprenticeship program and earn money while learning in-demand skills and receive nationally recognized credentials that lead to rewarding careers. They also provide employers with a pipeline of talented employees.
▶ 0:10:40Registered apprenticeships are are so successful that nine out of 10 apprentices continue to be employed upon completing their program and earn an average starting wage of approximately $80,000 a year. Registered apprenticeships are the gold standard of workforce training because of their high quality program standards.
▶ 0:11:02These quality standards not only ensure that apprentices build valuable skills while earning a salary and benefits, but also that they receive a credential that is valued in in the labor market and recognized by employers across the country. Without these standards, workers can become vulnerable to predatory ineffective programs. We're fortunate to have John Ladd as one of our witnesses this morning.
▶ 0:11:26Ladd ran the Department of of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship ship across four presidential administrations both Republican and Democratic. There's nobody better to tell us about the benefits and and the potential of registered apprenticeships. And as Mr.
▶ 0:11:43Ladd notes in his thoughtful testimony, uh the number of apprentices doubled since 2014, but we have more work to do to continue this growth and expand opportunities for women and other populations that remain statistically underrepresented in registered apprenticeship programs. Last year President Trump issued an executive order directing the Labor Department to deliver a plan to reach and surpass 1 million new active apprentices.
▶ 0:12:12Subcommittee Democrats and I welcome partnership bipartisan support for registered apprenticeships, but rhetoric should match reality. And with this administration and congressional Republicans, what they say and what they do are hardly ever the same. In early 2025, Elon Musk's DOJ made a huge mess and spurred an exodus of staff at the Labor Department, likely including some of the same folks who would have worked on the president's apprenticeship executive order.
▶ 0:12:43Uh the Trump administration needlessly paused or canceled millions of dollars in grants for apprenticeship programs and research. A North Carolina based nonprofit that offers pre-apprenticeship training to women and underemployed demographics had its grant canceled, as did research university whose president, Mr. Ross, is testifying today.
▶ 0:13:05The Trump administration's uh recent budgets proposed consolidating workforce development uh programs, uh and House Republicans recent spending bill only includes a slight increase for apprenticeships. This is not a blueprint to reach 1 million apprentices. Uh the Trump administration issued guidance uh loosening requirements that could water down quality standards in the apprenticeship program.
▶ 0:13:29And last month, Congresswoman Bonamici and I spearheaded a letter to the acting labor secretary expressing concerns about this guidance, and I ask unanimous consent, Mr. Chairman, to enter our letter into the And finally, Mr. Chairman, some Republicans who claim to love registered apprenticeships are the same folks who never miss a chance to attack the labor movement, which is a key driver and funder of registered apprenticeships. That does not make make much sense.
▶ 0:13:59And so, the subcommittee Democrats and I believe that we shouldn't just increase the number of apprenticeships to 1 million. We should be increasing the number by 1 million. And that's why we have supported billions, not millions, in new funding to increase access to registered apprenticeships, youth apprenticeships, and And this is why we continue to stand with the labor movement, which continues to do so much important work and innovation in this policy area, among others.
▶ 0:14:27I look forward to today's discussion, and I yield back the balance of my time, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 0:14:33Thank you. Pursuant to committee rule 8C, all members who wish to insert written statements into the record may do so by submitting them to the committee clerk electronically in Microsoft Word format by 5:00 p.m. 14 days after this hearing. And without objection, the hearing will remain open for 14 days to allow statements and other material noted during the hearings to be submitted for the official hearing record. I and will now like to to introduce the four distinguished witnesses we have. Our first witness is Ms.
▶ 0:15:01Jamie Angel, senior director of apprenticeships and traditional programs at Caliber Collision in Morris, Colorado. Second witness is Mr. Joe Ross, president of Reach University in Columbus, Ohio. Third witness is Mr. John Ladd, senior advisor in the Center for Apprenticeship and Work-Based Learning at Jobs for the Future in Washington, D.C. And fourth witness is Ms.
▶ 0:15:25Natasha Sherwood, chair of director of chapter and workforce development for the independent contractors in Tampa, Florida. Thank you so much. Uh I want to thank the witnesses for being here today, and we look forward to your testimonies. Pursuant to committee rules, I'll ask that each of you limit your oral presentation to 3-minute summary of your written statement. The clock will count down for 3 minutes as committee members have many questions for you.
▶ 0:15:55However, pursuant to committee rule 8D, committee prac- committee practice will not cut off your testimony till you reach the 5-minute I'd also like to remind the witnesses to be aware of your responsibility to provide accurate information to the And first, I'd like to recognize Ms. Angel for your testimony.
▶ 0:16:16Chairman Owens, Ranking Member Adams, and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Jamie Angel, and I am the senior director of apprenticeships and transitional programs at Caliber Collision, the nation's largest collision repair company. In my day-to-day role, I oversee Caliber's industry-leading technician apprenticeship program, we lovingly call TAP.
▶ 0:16:42Supporting between 800 and 1,800 apprentices at any given time and our journey worker teammates who mentor them. In 2023, Caliber's first apprentice graduated from TAP, which is a registered apprenticeship program. That milestone marked the beginning of what has become one of the largest and most impactful workforce pipelines in the collision repair industry. I grew up in a household where collision repair was a part of everyday life.
▶ 0:17:11My parents owned their own shop, and later both went on to teach auto collision at a local vocational school, which meant in my household if you didn't know what an inner rock career enforcement was, you might not get to talk at the dinner This upbringing showed me how beneficial careers in skilled trades could be. My own career started at the front desk of a small family-owned multi-shop operator while I worked my way through college. I didn't just stay at the desk.
▶ 0:17:39I spent time in detail, parts, production, estimating, and operations, eventually running a body shop at just 24 years old. My journey is proof of the power of expanding pathways to the skilled trades. Today, I carry with me the knowledge of what it's like to work on the shop floor as I seek to build sustainable technician pipelines and expand career pathways into the collision repair industry. My experiences have shaped my perspective.
▶ 0:18:07In this industry, opportunity is created when people are given a chance to learn, to work hard, and to grow. And that's why the technician shortage we face today is so important to me personally. Our industry needs skilled professionals at a pace our traditional pipelines are just not meeting. I cannot speak to the broader economic impact of apprenticeship programs, but I can speak to the remarkable impact of Caliber's TAP program on the economy.
▶ 0:18:35A Texas Workforce Commission study conducted with Lightcast analyzed Caliber's TAP program and found very remarkable Over a career, an apprentice generates just over $500,000 in additional lifetime earnings compared to what they would have earned without completing our program. And society as a whole, the gain is more than $3.2 million across each apprentice's working life.
▶ 0:19:01By the end of 2024, TAP had served almost 1,000 apprentices in Texas alone, supporting $22.1 million in added income and nearly 300 jobs across the state. It is important to emphasize this is just Texas. Nationally, Caliber has already graduated approximately 3,000 apprentices and has another 800 to 1,800 in training at any given time across 41 states.
▶ 0:19:30If these results were scaled nationwide, the economic and social impact would be transformative. A pathway to prosperity not just for the apprentices, but for their families, local communities, and the American economy as a whole. That's why apprenticeship programs are so critical. They provide structured training, mentorship, and a clear path to sustainable, meaningful career.
▶ 0:19:53They allow individuals to earn while they learn, develop real skills, and build long-term opportunities without taking on debt. But more importantly, they change lives not just for the apprentices, their families, and communities in which they live. We have countless success stories about how our apprentices' lives were changed that we'd love to share, and this is why programs like TAP work.
▶ 0:20:16TAP takes people, many with no prior experiences, and combines technical training with mentorship and real-world experience for a clear path to certification. It's typically completed in 12 to 18 months. Our apprentices are paid day one, they receive benefits day one, and they're given tools early in the program. And they graduate debt-free. The model works, but one company or one industry cannot solve this alone.
▶ 0:20:44By granting flexibility to program sponsors, providing financial incentives, and investing in the pipeline, we can build a stronger workforce across not just collision, but all skilled trades. Thank you again for your time and your commitment to strengthening our workforce development.
▶ 0:21:01Thank you. I now recognize Mr. Mr. Ross for your testimony.
▶ 0:21:06Chairman Owens, Ranking Member Adams, and members of the subcommittee, my name is Joe Ross and it is an honor to appear on behalf of Reach University, the nation's first accredited university to focus entirely on turning jobs into degrees. Our North Star is upward mobility and our model is the apprenticeship degree. I come before you today, the son of a postal service custodian disabled in an accident.
▶ 0:21:33My mother passed when I was and when I was adopted, a judge told me that I would have a new last name. And I must have thought, "You can do that? What else about the the the hand you're dealt can you just change?" Well, I went on to college, the Navy, and now I have the privilege of serving as the inaugural president of Reach University.
▶ 0:21:56And what led us to found Reach six years ago was this very idea that a person, no matter their circumstance, should be able, with opportunity and hard work, to change their own destiny. My message today is that higher education should and can change itself, reinvent itself, by embracing the workplace as a learning just like apprenticeship.
▶ 0:22:26Now, every year millions of Americans turn down the promise of a degree because they need to work. Many go to work in the very same schools and hospitals where employers can't fill the higher paying roles that require post-secondary credentials. Workforce shortages and untapped talent sit side by side, often in the same building. But what if nobody had to choose between a job and a degree?
▶ 0:22:54What if instead you could turn your job into a degree? That is what the apprenticeship degree does And here are the ABCs of the model. A is affordability. That means no student loans. No learner at Reach pays more than $75 out of pocket per month. B is based in the workplace. An apprenticeship degree starts with a paid job and is designed to end with a better paid job.
▶ 0:23:22And C is credit for work. About half the learning is on the job, and the other half in the evening or weekend seminars. Reach now serves 3,400 working adults across 10 states. 65% of them are Pell eligible with a 68% on-time graduation rate and an 84% immediate job placement Take Nicole Menard of St.
▶ 0:23:48Mary's Parish, As a widowed mother earning $20,000 a college felt unattainable. She worked full-time as a special education aid. But then with Reach, she was able to turn that job into her degree. And today, she is a math and science teacher earning more than double the salary and serving the community that invested in her.
▶ 0:24:14The apprenticeship degree is built for the 50 million working adults like who shouldn't have to leave their job or their community or go into debt to get ahead. Now, we don't intend to scale this all by ourselves. Through our National Center for the Apprenticeship Degree, which is known as NCAD, we share the model with peers across nearly 20 states. And as my colleagues say, that's what's called R&D.
▶ 0:24:44As in rip off and duplicate. So, together, by making the American workplace the American learning place, we can address critical workforce and we can revitalize the American Thank you very much.
▶ 0:25:03Thank you. And I'd like to recognize Mr. Ladd for your testimony.
▶ 0:25:07Good morning, Chairman, Ranking Member, and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the topic of modern apprenticeships for a modern economy. My name is John Ladd and I serve as senior advisor at Jobs for the Future Center for Apprenticeship and Work-Based Before joining JFF, I I served as administrator of the US Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship across four administrations, both Republican and Democratic.
▶ 0:25:34JFF believes strongly in the power of apprenticeship and work-based learning having created created the center almost 10 years ago and has played several roles in the effort to expand registered apprenticeships including serving as an intermediary and grantee, technical assistance provider, and most recently as a sponsor of a registered apprenticeship program.
▶ 0:25:55Over the past decade, JFF has helped develop or expand apprenticeship efforts in 40 states engaged more than 3,300 employers and sponsors and supported more than 14,000 JFF has a long history of partnering with DOL on a range of range of initiatives that support apprenticeship and workforce development and we look forward to many more opportunities for continued collaboration.
▶ 0:26:20My message today is that apprenticeship works and efforts to date uh to scale have been remarkably successful. But to move apprenticeship forward, we must develop a consensus-based strategy and framework for a modern apprenticeship Registered apprenticeship has benefit benefited from strong bipartisan support and the United States has made real progress with the system having doubled since 2014 which coincides with the advent of federal funding.
▶ 0:26:48Registered apprenticeship now produces more than 300,000 new apprentices annually, making it the largest training delivery system overseen by ETA with meaningful expansion into sectors far beyond construction. However, growth has slowed in recent years and without deliberate action, the country is not on track to meet the president's goal of 1 million active apprentices by 2030, let alone generate the far larger number of apprenticeship opportunities our economy will ultimately need.
▶ 0:27:20In my view, there are three critical steps to modernizing apprenticeships. First, we need clearer roles across the national apprenticeship system. Many more actors are now involved across a growing ecosystem, which is a sign of real progress, but it has also created confusion, especially for employers new to apprenticeship. Too often, they do not know who can help design programs, deliver instruction, recruit apprentices, or connect them to public resources.
▶ 0:27:47Second, registered apprenticeship should be the centerpiece of a connected pathway system that bridges education and work. That means linking career exploration, pre-apprenticeship, youth apprenticeship, degree apprenticeship, and career advancement into clear pathways with no dead ends. Third, the country needs a long-term national growth and innovation strategy. We have made real progress, but we have also seen repeated cycles of momentum and disruption.
▶ 0:28:18Too much instability makes it harder for employers, industry partners, states, and intermediaries to continue to continue to invest in what works. That is why we need a strategy that is bipartisan, durable across administrations, and built for the long term.
▶ 0:28:34It should include an immediate plan to reach 1 million apprentices, a longer vision for reaching an even greater number of apprentices, more transparency around federal investment priorities, stronger employer outreach, and room for state and industry-led This leads to my final point. Congress should reauthorize the National Apprenticeship Act.
▶ 0:28:56This act created an important foundation in 1937, but it was written for a very different Today, apprenticeship needs a modern framework built for faster skill change, broader industry adoption, and national Reauthorization is the clearest path to durable modernization and should do several things. Authorize long-term funding commensurate with goals. Provide meaningful employer incentives across industries.
▶ 0:29:25Define the apprenticeship ecosystem and the roles within it more clearly. Support core pathway models including pre-apprenticeship, youth apprenticeship, and degree apprenticeship. Strengthen governance at the federal and state levels. Modernize data and performance and accountability systems.
▶ 0:29:42And lastly, address long-standing tensions in the system in ways that preserve quality while allowing In this 250th anniversary year, Congress has a chance to do something both important and fitting. Apprenticeship helped shape early American opportunity and it can help shape our future as Congress can strengthen apprenticeships for the next generation by building a more connected, innovative, and scalable apprenticeship system. Thank you.
▶ 0:30:11Thank you. And last, I'd like to recognize Ms. Sherwood for your this
▶ 0:30:16Good morning, Chairman Owens, Ranking Member Adams, and members of the subcommittee. My name is Natasha Sherwood. I serve as the workforce development director for the Independent Electrical Contractors, a national association representing 54 chapters, 4,200 contractors, and 22,000 If we're going to rewire the workforce, we first need enough people to wire We need 80,000 new electricians every year to build and power the data centers, manufacturing plants, schools, and infrastructure that keeps us To meet that challenge,
▶ 0:30:46IEC is scaling apprenticeship through group sponsorship while combining tradition with modern tools and innovative approaches. At IEC, a modern apprenticeship isn't defined by technology alone. It's defined by expanding opportunity, removing barriers, and helping more people succeed without lowering standards. Because behind every apprenticeship statistic is a person. For us, that person is Jayden.
▶ 0:31:10Jayden came to us through IEC's pre-apprenticeship program in the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, where he learned through online instruction, live teaching, and hands-on assessments. When his instructor told me he was being released, I made one phone call to an IEC contractor. I explained he had a record, but he'd completed our IEC program, and they hired him Then came the texts I'll never forget or delete. Photos of a future that Jayden never imagined for himself.
▶ 0:31:37His first pair of work boots, his first car, his first apartment, and just last month another first. He completed his first year of apprenticeship with a 91% Jayden didn't succeed because of one program or one technology. He succeeded because IEC innovated at every step of the journey. Because a modern economy requires a modern apprenticeship system, and that's one that meets people where they are and prepares them for where the economy is going.
▶ 0:32:05And it starts with reimagining where talent comes from. We're building multiple on-ramps into the apprenticeship through school programs, adult boot camps, military transition pathways, and community partnerships that help us reach people traditional systems often miss. Reaching those individuals requires us to think differently, and that's where technology offers solutions. We're using AI tutoring that scaffolds learning for struggling readers and translates curriculum into more than 200 languages.
▶ 0:32:30Synchronous, asynchronous, and hybrid instruction that removes barriers of time and geography, and virtual reality that helps apprentices learn complex skills cheaper, faster, and safer. But, a modern apprenticeship isn't built on technology alone. It's built on partnerships. IEC apprentices earn 57 college credits while completing the apprenticeship, proving workforce and education are stronger when they work We're partnering across workforce ecosystems, working with the DOL, collaborating with workforce boards, nonprofits, and educational institutions to expand apprenticeship opportunities.
▶ 0:33:00We're removing barriers to success through wrap-around services like transportation assistance, hand tools, and academic tutoring when life gets in the way. But, our greatest innovation isn't technology, it's our group sponsorship model. Group sponsorship allows employers, especially small businesses, to participate in apprenticeship without having to build or run an entire program on their own.
▶ 0:33:23IEC provides the curriculum, reporting, instructors, compliance, and best practices, which allows the contractors to focus on training the next generation of electricians. That makes the apprenticeship more accessible, scalable, and sustainable. And no amount of technology will replace Apprentices still master their trade the way they always have, by learning from skilled professionals while earning a paycheck on the job.
▶ 0:33:49Before I close, I'd like to come back to Today, we're going to talk about AI, virtual reality, online learning, and modern workforce systems, and those tools absolutely matter, but they aren't the story. The real story is Jayden. Technology didn't change Jayden's life. People did. Technolo- technology simply helped us find him sooner, train him better, remove barriers that stood in his way, and help him succeed.
▶ 0:34:16Today, Jayden is the product of a modern apprenticeship for a modern economy. He is a skilled electrician, a taxpayer, a young man with a career, future, and purpose, and thousands of apprentices like him represent the workforce America Because America's future will be built by skilled men and women like Jayden, who install the conduit, pull the wire, and keep the lights on. When education meets opportunity, lives change.
▶ 0:34:42And when government, education, and industry work together, those opportunities IEC stands ready to help America build the workforce our economy needs today and in the future. My written testimony contains six suggestions for you to I thank you, and I look forward to your questions, and more importantly to working with you to find and help the next Jayden in each of your districts.
▶ 0:35:05Thank you. Thank you so much for that. Under committee rule nine, we're now questioning witnesses under five-minute rule. I'll recognize myself for five
▶ 0:35:13Ms. Angel, as if if if 18-year-old asked you to tomorrow whether they should take a $30,000 student debt and pursue traditional higher education or enter the apprenticeship where they're earning where they're earning a paycheck on day one, what factors would you tell them to consider?
▶ 0:35:31Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's funny you ask. I have an 18-year-old daughter who just graduated high school. We've had these conversations over the last year between her, her boyfriend, her friends. Every time we've had the discussion, they've chosen different paths based on the factors in which we discussed. What kind of work do you enjoy? Do you like working with your hands, analyzing, writing, researching? What kind of career do you want? What do you want your day-to-day look like?
▶ 0:36:01Not what degree do you want, what area do you want to study, what do you want to look forward to in the future? What do you want to expect on a day-to-day? Of course, there's financial implications, and they need to discover that and determine whether or not that's the right path for them. But I also encourage them to think about how do they learn best? Are they somebody that is a hands-on, real-world learner?
▶ 0:36:27Are they a somebody that enjoys classroom What is the demand for their career? Are employers hiring? Are there a shortage of workers in that field? What are the growth opportunities, right? At the end of the day, I always tell that it might I told my daughter and all of her friends, "Don't choose college or a trade because of prestige or what you think you know.
▶ 0:36:52Choose the best path that aligns with your interests, your strengths, your financial goals, your desired lifestyle. A skilled trades apprenticeship can lead to a very highly successful career. College can also be an excellent investment. The mistake is when you choose a plan without knowing what you want."
▶ 0:37:15Thank you. Uh Mr. Ross, for years we've heard employers say, "We need skills." We've heard universities say, "We provide degrees." Your model suggests that it doesn't have to be separate separate things. Are we headed toward a future where work experience itself becomes a primary source of academic credit? And if so, uh what still needs to be done to to recognize and realize that future?
▶ 0:37:39Well, it it is indeed a both-and proposition. As uh Under Secretary Nicholas Kent recently put it,
▶ 0:37:46credit for work
▶ 0:37:48the one who didn't do Yeah. Turn on my microphone. I knew it'd be me. Um so So, as I was saying, it is a both-and proposition. And as Under Secretary Nicholas Kent recently put it, credit for work looks like converting paid mentored work experience into recognized academic progress. And that enables learners to get relevant on-the-job experience from day one.
▶ 0:38:12Credit for work is also rigorous because the workplace is where learners can put theories to the test and connect theory with practice. They can demonstrate their skills. They can apply their Uh it's where they can engage in sense making and uh it's important because it means that working adults don't have to choose between the paycheck they need now and the degree or or the credential that that could get them ahead. Uh what's going to make it more of reality?
▶ 0:38:40I think that as we see new models emerge, we're going to need to uh the accreditors embrace alternative ways of obtaining true academic credit that still keeps higher education higher but is relevant to near-term job skills as well as long-term human flourishing.
▶ 0:38:57Thank you. Thank you so much. Ms. Sherwood, um you've worked in education and workforce development for much of your career. What's the biggest misconception parents and students still have about careers in the skilled
▶ 0:39:10It's a great question.
▶ 0:39:11Sherwood, I'm sorry. It was Ms. Ms. Sherwood, I'm sorry.
▶ 0:39:15It's okay. Thank you, Congressman. I think there's several misconceptions um but perhaps the biggest is that apprenticeship is only for those who can't get into college. As a former teacher and principal, and I often joke I'm a college for all addict recovering, um I didn't really understand apprenticeship. And looking back, that makes me sad because I realize sometimes I didn't give all the opportunities. I think we have to look at apprenticeship to be celebrated just as enthusiastically as those going to college. I have four kids, two in college, and we posted that all over social media.
▶ 0:39:43When my third, who wants to go into apprenticeship, decide makes that decision, I want to post that and have the exact same celebration and the number of likes to pop up. I think there's also a few other ones that apprenticeship is only for skilled trades. As we're discussing today, that's not the case. We're going into health care and IT and education. I think there's also the misconception that apprenticeship is a quick fix. It's hard work. It takes involvement, it takes investment, and it's not a And I think the other one in last is apprenticeship is not the end of learning. It's really the beginning.
▶ 0:40:12IEC focuses on the continued education after An apprenticeship gets to the journeyman, but at that point they have so many opportunities, whether it's into estimating, a project managing, they want to be a BIM specialist, or own their own company. I think the biggest misconception there is that it stops. And I think we have to realize that apprenticeship is just the first step in an on-ramp to a great career.
▶ 0:40:35Thank you. Thank you so much. And I'd like to recognize ranking member for her uh purpose of questioning the witnesses.
▶ 0:40:42Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And uh Mr. Ross, thank you for being here. Um I understand that that Reach University had millions of dollars in grants canceled by the Trump administration for its Teachers College. Is that correct? Just give me a yes or no sir.
▶ 0:40:58Uh yes, ma'am. Uh so, could you tell us briefly what those funds were going to support and who they were serving?
▶ 0:41:07Well, all the work we do supports working adults in communities across the country and in earning their turning their job into a degree. And we understand that uh with a new administration comes new priorities. Uh building a new enterprise, a new social enterprise has its ups and downs, but we're pleased to see that there are some new grant competitions that have been released, and they are prioritizing apprenticeship and work-based learning, and degree connected apprenticeship.
▶ 0:41:36And um my team calls me the constant optimist, but I do think that's good.
▶ 0:41:40I want to move once again. So, what were the grants um what were they going to support, and who were they serving?
▶ 0:41:47Well, they were they were supporting uh uh folks working in workplaces, uh
▶ 0:41:55We uh we were able to continue that work, and uh we're
▶ 0:41:59Okay, let me I've got several more questions. So, do you think that uh the canceling by the Trump administration grants such as yours and the one in North Carolina uh that I mentioned in my opening statements advances what seems to be a bipartisan goal of increasing the number of apprentices and apprentices nationwide and yes or no we're doing that answers as well.
▶ 0:42:21Well, I think the the the rise of apprenticeship is is being supported in a bipartisan way and that's evidenced by governors and the administration and everybody here in this room. Everyone talks about the bi port partisan support for this work so we're optimistic.
▶ 0:42:37Thank you sir. Let me let me go to Mr. [clears throat] Ladd. Thank you for being here Mr. Ladd. In in your testimony um your testimony predicts that we will fall short of 1 million apprentices apprentices by the end of of the decade without deliberate intervention intervention.
▶ 0:42:55So would you elaborate on that um and do you think that the Trump administration canceling grants for apprenticeship programs and apprenticeship research puts our country closer to 1 million apprenticeships or further away from that goal?
▶ 0:43:10Uh thank you very much. Um Yes, so we've done some looking at the the rate of growth over the past few years and um on our current path we are we are not on on a trajectory to reach 1 million apprentices and this is something you know the administration is very aware of and is open to ideas. Um you know my larger point in my testimony is that we have gone through a series of cycles of disruption and and then momentum and
▶ 0:43:40So so so let me just reclaim my time because I have a few more things and and we're almost at the at the end of of my time. So is that going to put us closer to 1 million apprenticeships um do you think or is it going to take us further away from the goal?
▶ 0:43:54I think generally when we've had disruption it's taken us further away.
▶ 0:43:57Okay. So do you think that the current House administration spending bill which provides only $5 million increase for the Office of Apprenticeships brings our country closer to 1 million apprenticeships or further away from that goal.
▶ 0:44:12No, again, we are not at the level of funding that we need to reach the reach the goals.
▶ 0:44:16Okay, as I as I mentioned earlier in my opening statement, Congresswoman Bonamici and I have written to the Department of Labor regarding recent sub-regulatory guidance on registered apprenticeships that weakens safeguards and creates opportunities for abuse. We haven't heard back from them. So, Mr.
▶ 0:44:32Ladd, I'm concerned that under this guidance the elimination of minimum time requirements for apprenticeships given advanced standing might create a situation in which employees can convert pre-existing employee training programs into apprenticeships, and these phantom apprenticeship programs could not could only allow existing employees eligible for advanced standing to apply. So, do you think that this is a a fair concern, and are there any other ways that you see these circulars could lead to abuse?
▶ 0:45:02I think it is a fair concern. The guidance does put a lot of the onus on the registration agencies, whether that's the Department of Labor or the state apprenticeship agencies, to kind of hold the line on that. This is another example of that tension in the system that that I mentioned earlier between we want to promote both quality and standards while also leaving room for innovation, and we tend to go to extremes of either one rather than recognizing that we need to
▶ 0:45:32let me get this last point in. We are working here to ensure that underrepresented groups can access apprenticeship programs. What do you think the historically black colleges and universities' role can be? And do you see a role for degree-connected apprenticeships? 6 seconds, sir.
▶ 0:45:50Absolutely, yes. We work very closely with HBCUs and and other minority-serving institutions. They can serve as sponsors and intermediaries and a broad range of
▶ 0:45:59Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 0:46:01Thank you. Now, I'd like to recognize uh my friend from Michigan, the uh chairman of the full committee, uh Mr. Walberg.
▶ 0:46:09Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks for this uh this hearing today, this panel. I think uh the pendulum has swung. It's swung too far, the I think the wrong direction for one-size-fits-all higher education, four-year institutions, et cetera. Apprenticeships grew this country. That's what started everything that made this country really what it was. And now we're swinging back. And I notice in the medical field we even have apprenticeship opportunities there. Uh it's called a practice.
▶ 0:46:39And and it's working. And [clears throat] and it's it still frustrates me to hear some of my friends on the other side of the aisle talk about a really politics of division and scarcity as if Republicans didn't want apprenticeship programs because we are only for a one-size-fits-all. We aren't. We need apprenticeship programs across the board. Uh the health care problem we have in this country isn't a Republican problem uh as was tried to be filtered to to us this morning.
▶ 0:47:09It's the Affordable Care Act. It's the Democrat proposal. We're talking about a a a a plan that works for the masses in apprenticeship. So, thank you for the panel that's here today. Ms.
▶ 0:47:23Angel, uh I remember my days as a detail person at a body shop, Pontiac Chevy body shop and smelling that wonderful fragrance of limited Bondo as these artists put back together vehicles in a way that uh the owners could be proud again of their vehicle. Uh we hear of a technician shortage. What is What does that shortage actually mean for everyday
▶ 0:47:49Thank you so much for your time detailing cars. It's hard work and much appreciated. You know, I like to say it's just math, right? Based on the number of technicians in the workforce today, the retirement rate based on the average age of technician, and the industry entry rate, the accident rate doesn't add up. TechForce recently published an article showing a gap in supply versus demand of 58% over the next 5 years.
▶ 0:48:19What that means to Americans is when the supply is less than the demand, shops have to compete for a limited number of people, which drives labor rates high, which can add to repair costs, which means carriers pay more, which means rates go up. This can impact the economy as a whole. If we can't get cars fixed timely and back on the road safely, consumers will pay more for the repair, as well as more rental, which affects what people pay out of
▶ 0:48:50Yeah, it can also be huge frustration to the consumer.
▶ 0:48:54So, to get it done right in an efficient way is is so important. Thanks for the work you do. Mr. Ross, it's it's as a Michigander it's a delight to finally hear of a quality education institution coming from Columbus, Ohio. Turning jobs into degrees, if colleges across America adopted the model, uh what would look fundamentally different about higher education 10 years from now?
▶ 0:49:25Well, for starters, uh Mr. Chairman, I
▶ 0:49:28Uh uh there I go again. For starters, higher education would look a lot like more would look a lot like apprenticeship, uh along the lines of the ABCs that I that I discussed, affordable without student debt, based in workplaces across uh the country, and conferring credit for work. Another thing that would look different is the faculty model would would look different. At Reach, our degree candidates are job embedded uh and so are much of our faculty.
▶ 0:49:57So, colleagues are classmates and experienced colleagues are your professors. But they're not the kind of professor that just that professes, they mentor and they engage in in in in learning through conversation. And third because of all that, uh it it it offers this this uh double benefit in terms of outcomes. Near-term job skills and the long-term human flourishing that higher education was supposed to have delivered.
▶ 0:50:25Yeah, thank you. Ms. Sherwood, um it shouldn't be a shock speaking of electricity that the new technologies that are out there in increasing electric electrification and and changing workforce needs are there. How's your organization modifying training programs to prepare apprenticeships for those emerging demands?
▶ 0:50:49Absolutely. Uh technology's helping us, thank you for the question, and technology is helping us scale apprenticeship without lowering the standards. And what we're doing using that for the entire journey, kind of what we talked about with Jaden. So, how do we bring individuals in? So, using technology to make sure they have the right fit first before we put them in the career, so they have a better retention rate. Then we're looking at digital portfolios and national competency certifications that can transfer with them. And then in the classroom, we are working on every opportunity to break down barriers.
▶ 0:51:18So, whether that's online learning platforms so that a single mom can work at night through a course, whether that's synchronous and asynchronous learning online, or sitting in seats like we are today. We're also installing AI tutoring into it so that it scaffolds it to lower level reading so that everybody can take part or translates it into more than 200 languages. But additionally, it doesn't leave them at that language translation, it helps them actually learn English so that they can progress in their careers along the way.
▶ 0:51:43A lot of common sense. My time is expired, but I appreciate your testimony and all of you. Thank you. I'll yield
▶ 0:51:50Thank you. I'll now recognize my friend from Georgia, Mr. Babin.
▶ 0:51:54Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to each of our witnesses that are with us today. We appreciate you. Uh almost every good job today requires some sort of credential after high But despite that, most Americans will not go to college.
▶ 0:52:09The federal government spends billions more taxpayer dollars on colleges and universities than it does on programs that working people are more more likely to participate in, things like apprenticeships and other licenses and You do not have to go to college to be It certainly helps, though, but it's not the only path to a good job.
▶ 0:52:34Our current system leaves out the people that higher education and workforce development programs are really meant The people who can't pay to get ahead. People who can only climb the ladder with hard work and what God gave them, not what they may have been born into. You shouldn't have to already have money to make money in this country.
▶ 0:53:00But that is becoming the norm for our Millions of Americans are working harder and producing more than ever before, but will never be able to afford to buy their own home. Will never have the peace of mind that they've saved enough money to retire or pass anything down to the next generation of their family.
▶ 0:53:23Registered apprenticeships offer a path to a good career without the cost barriers that trap people into poverty. I truly believe that when done correctly, registered apprenticeships can help fix these problems. The best way to to poverty for working people is to ensure that every American can get a good job and they can keep it. Apprenticeships do just that.
▶ 0:53:49Apprenticeships get paid Apprentices rather get paid as they learn and don't have to take out loans that they may never never be able to pay Congress should support states that are bringing apprenticeships into professions outside of the trades like teaching where the apprenticeship model makes so much more sense. Teaching is one of the most important jobs in our society but the cost to become one is pushing good people out of the way.
▶ 0:54:18Americans want the most qualified people teaching our kids but expecting regular people to come up with tens of thousands of dollars on their own to become teachers and this just isn't working. Teaching apprenticeships also help keep teachers in rural and low-income communities. When a student wants to become a teacher, they normally have to leave their hometown to do it. And when people leave they are so much less likely to come back.
▶ 0:54:47By letting students that want to teach in their own communities learn in their own communities, we will keep more people in places that they don't want to leave but may feel like they have to. This model also helps with teacher turnover because student teachers can see what it's really like to be in the classroom before they fully commit to that career. So many graduate students teach for a few years and find out that teaching in the classroom just isn't for them.
▶ 0:55:17We can help students make these decisions earlier so that they can make the best decision for them and Congress can focus limited resources on students who will be teaching for decades instead of just a few years. Mr. Ladd, can you please discuss some of the innovative registered apprenticeship programs that are happening outside of the construction industry.
▶ 0:55:41And what are you seeing in education, finance, and healthcare that is particularly exciting and could also be scaled?
▶ 0:55:52Thank you. Uh I very much appreciate the question and uh I appreciate the focus on teacher apprenticeships. I think that uh an incredible area of success to the point now where I believe almost every state in the country has teacher apprenticeship where that was not the case even 5 years ago uh and has spurred a lot of the great interest in degree apprenticeships because they were able to create that pathway without eliminating the standards for becoming a teacher and uh a teacher degree and and
▶ 0:56:22uh uh credential as part of that pathway. Um you know, I I believe now that innovation is becoming more the norm than the exception. You see innovation everywhere both in the traditional uh construction trades as well as outside of construction. Uh really excited at JFF, we are for the first time sponsoring an apprenticeship program with the insurance and brokerage industry, which also is going to be a degree apprenticeship uh that will provide an associate's degree uh through Western Governors uh University.
▶ 0:56:53And uh this is another great example of expanding apprenticeship into new industries, blending the model. Uh we don't want to have to make people choose between apprenticeship or education. It's it's a no end pathway uh that is inclusive of both. Uh if you want to stop at apprenticeship, you can stop. If you want to move on to traditional uh education, you have that option.
▶ 0:57:16Well, thank you so much. And as I said before, you should not have to already have money to make money in the United States of America. And I yield.
▶ 0:57:24Thank you. And I now I'd like to recognize my friend from Missouri, uh Dr. Andrew.
▶ 0:57:29Thank you, Chairman Owens. I'm glad we're having this hearing today to about how to unleash apprenticeship opportunities for Americans. Uh any serious conversation on apprenticeships apprenticeships though I should include the negative impact of project labor agreements.
▶ 0:57:47The construction industry is by has by far the most apprenticeships of any other Uh so if you make construction projects artificially more difficult or more expensive, you reduce apprenticeship During my first term as Missouri State Senator, the number of Missourians in apprenticeships in fiscal in fiscal year 2017 was just over 12,000. Missouri ranked 11th of all states for total numbers of apprenticeships.
▶ 0:58:14Pretty pretty good, but state government mandated PLAs on public works projects hindered Missouri from being a top state for apprenticeships. But after Governor Eric Greitens signed my bill to overturn PLA mandates, Missouri apprenticeship opportunities skyrocket skyrocketed.
▶ 0:58:32In fiscal year 2024, we nearly doubled the number of Missourians in apprenticeships and now rank fourth nationwide with the other much larger states ranking behind us including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Uh Ms. Sherwood, can you walk us through how um union only project labor agreements make construction projects more expensive and limit employers' ability to offer high-quality apprenticeship programs?
▶ 0:59:01Congressman, thank you. Yes, our concern is that project labor agreements um actually reduce workforce participation rather than expanding it. Many merit shop contractors invest significant time and resources in training their own apprentices. They hire them, pay their wages, provide supervision and mentorship, and absorb the productivity costs associated with that training.
▶ 0:59:18However, under some of the PLA agreements, those contractors, if they win a federal project, should they even bid on it, they may be be to obtain workers through collective bargaining hiring halls or use apprentices from another apprenticeship program rather than the ones that they've trained. And for many contractors, this means they don't bring the apprentices and they don't get the OJT and qualifications are lower and we can't compete. We know competition lowers prices and speeds up the process.
▶ 0:59:44Thank you Thank you, Ms. Sherwood. Well, as you know, of course, government registered apprenticeship programs or GRAPs are approved by either the Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship or by a state apprenticeship agency which exist in 30 states. Unfortunately, state government regulators often have abused their authority and limited apprenticeship programs by delaying or refusing to register programs that are not union affiliated. In 2023, uh and these numbers are startling.
▶ 1:00:14In 2023, California had 85 union GRAPs compared to only 23 non-union in its construction industry. By reference, in the same year, Iowa had 33 union GRAPs and 648 non-union GRAPs in its construction industry. Ms. Sherwood, uh what can Congress do to ensure that all uh apprenticeship programs have an equal opportunity to get approved?
▶ 1:00:39Absolutely, there's a couple of things and thank you for that question. Um one of the restrictive ratio requirements keep us from being able to put enough um apprentices on the jobs and PLA agreements require limit participation. Um right now, for example, IEC is working to with contractors in Las Vegas. They've come together, they formed, they want to do an apprenticeship program, they have standards that are duplicative of others in Nevada, but they're not being approved because they don't not having wages that meet the other wages of the other organizations. We also have groups in Oregon and Washington that are facing needs tests.
▶ 1:01:09They're saying there's not a need. We just heard we need a million apprentices and 80,000 electricians. So, I think there's a need and we're facing this. What I will say on the good part of that is we've worked really
▶ 1:01:18Especially with the AI boom.
▶ 1:01:19Yeah, especially with AI boom, data centers, all in manufacturing. I will say on the good note, working with the DOL, they've been super responsive. We've been able to reach out to them and they've helped us in trying to establish and get those apprentice programs. But obviously you can't reach a million apprentices if we can't start the apprentice programs and if we can't put them on the jobs. Lastly, Ms. Sherwood, this subcommittee strives to identify programs and strategies that are best in workforce development. Your industry has trained apprentices successfully for decades.
▶ 1:01:49What what practices have you identified?
▶ 1:01:53Thank you. I think there's a couple of different ones. One I think is most important to realize it may be simple, but it's the group sponsorship model. And the concept of a group coming together is what allows small businesses to be able to be in an apprenticeship. They don't have to stand it up, train them, and run it. It's sustainable. And I think that's probably the biggest thing we can take away is using those group sponsorships.
▶ 1:02:14Thank you. I yield back.
▶ 1:02:16Thank you. And I'd like to [clears throat] recognize my friend from Connecticut, Mr. Courtney.
▶ 1:02:20Thank thank you Chairman Owens and thank you to the witnesses for being here Again, I have the privilege of representing the congressional district that actually was the birthplace of the Fitzgerald Act. Congressman William Fitzgerald, who was a first-term congressman from Eastern Connecticut. He actually entered the workforce when he was 15 years old at a foundry, worked his way up to again high political office.
▶ 1:02:46Again, as a freshman he was able to convince the Congress unanimously to pass the Fitzgerald Act. Again, his his own personal testimony describing the exploitation of apprentices, again minor children back in the day when when he started out. But also his adamant insistence that we really needed to create quality standards as a national base.
▶ 1:03:13And the certificates, if they're not sort of adhering to a national standard really are not transportable from one part of the country to the other. I mean, it actually liberates workers to who go through apprenticeships to be able to again take their trade and their families or whatever to different parts of the country.
▶ 1:03:34And unfortunately, that sort of seems to be sort of the crux of the of the you know debate that's been going on over the last four or five years with the first Trump administration, Biden administration and now we're back again with the Trump administration. So, Mr. Ladd, in terms of your experience working in the office of apprenticeships, I mean, this issue of quality standards is not excessive government. It's really to make sure that the the system actually has integrity and maybe you could talk about that for a little bit.
▶ 1:04:05Yeah, that's exactly right and do appreciate the long history with Connecticut and I hear that often from my my friends in Connecticut and Wisconsin, which is also the first state in in the union to register apprenticeship programs. But that's exactly right that you know, the one-page national apprenticeship act in 1937 talks about two kind of core federal roles. One is protecting the safety and welfare of apprentices.
▶ 1:04:30The other is working with states and industry on the furtherance of standards and it is that idea of what makes registered apprenticeship registered apprenticeship is that you are you have consistency across an occupation.
▶ 1:04:45You have a standard that is not driven by the government, but driven by industry that says this is what someone needs to be occupationally proficient that they're ready to do that job independently on their own and that is the benefit of the system.
▶ 1:05:03And so the the the debates as you mentioned the this kind of ping-ponging back and forth, we do need to find room to ensure that we have a system that promotes quality and consistency and navigate navigability across a system, but also that does allow for innovation and allows for other industries and other models to emerge.
▶ 1:05:25Correct. And again, we're seeing innovation in Connecticut. The Hartford Insurance Group actually started an apprenticeship program again for IT their IT workforce that's there and they've been around for a long time. My father was a insurance guy back in the day and you know, they were very leery about apprenticeships, but it just sort of didn't sound right, but they they have embraced it wholeheartedly and successfully.
▶ 1:05:52In your testimony, you talked about the fact that again under the Fitzgerald Act structure, the number of apprentices has doubled from 2014 to 2026. So the notion that somehow, you know, we're suffocating the the the system, you know, with um Fitzgerald Act which should be reauthorized and and improved, no question about it.
▶ 1:06:14But the fact of the matter is and I've talked to a lot of non-union employers in my district that have gone through the apprenticeship process with the state of Connecticut Department of Labor and they said it has not been that you know, all the mythology about how onerous it is in fact was not the case. And I and I would just note for Miss Sherwood um Electric Boat Shipyard right now is is involved in the number one priority of the US Navy which is to recapitalize its ballistic submarine force.
▶ 1:06:44The the Columbia Class program a PLA agreement can built an $800 million production facility on time under budget and today again, it's you know, the first of the subs is hopefully going to be delivered in 2028. Again, every single one of those workers came to work every day as patriots proud of the work that they were doing with apprenticeships part of the PLA agreement.
▶ 1:07:12So, you know, the notion that PLAs are somehow inherently going to hinder apprenticeships, I would welcome you to come up and visit Southeastern Connecticut and admire the work that's being done. And there are other projects that are happening on the waterfront at that shipyard that are PLAs to to meet the the nation's demand signal for our navy fleet. And with that, I yield back.
▶ 1:07:37Thank you. And I'd like to recognize my friend from Wisconsin, Mr.
▶ 1:07:44Thank you. I think we have uh tremendous apprenticeship programs in Wisconsin, both union and non-union. I think it's not unusual to find programs in which people don't only don't only they don't pay tuition themselves, uh but programs in which they're paid to take the classes is not unusual.
▶ 1:08:05I think as so far as we have a problem that has to be addressed is we have to find a way to persuade people are catching on on their own, but find a way to make sure that more people understand the most secure way for a career and the way to make the most money is to get involved in what I'll call skills-based education. And you will do better than your brother who's got a communication arts degree or psychology degree.
▶ 1:08:32And somehow we got to get that out more. I mean, there are so many people who are very quickly making six figures without debt, provided they go the skills education sort of way. Um now I'll start with Mr. Ross. When I was elected in Congress, I've been since being elected in Congress, I try to ensure that students are well equipped to take advantage of apprenticeship programs.
▶ 1:08:59I'm very happy to see the work done in Reach Can you elaborate on the industries that you're currently focused on and where you may continue to expand? And do you operate well Go ahead.
▶ 1:09:13Well, thank you for the question. You know, in in every county in this country, there are schools that need teachers. In almost every county, there are clinic clinics that need nurses. And these are fields where an apprenticeship degree allows local people to rise up. And so, the industries that we're seeing first are teaching, health care.
▶ 1:09:36That's where this starts because to fill those higher-paying jobs, employers know they need to train uh train their people for a period of time. Uh Mrs. rather than waiting for talent to appear, Caliber's invested in building its own workforce pipeline. Why did your company decide to pursue apprenticeships as part of that strategy?
▶ 1:10:03And what were the key lessons learned in the development of your workforce programs?
▶ 1:10:10Thank you for the question. At Caliber, we've always had an apprenticeship program, just not official. Our industry was built on teaching those who came into the business. That's how I learned. That's how our chief operating officer learned, where he started out sweeping shop floors. It's always been inherent in our business.
▶ 1:10:36We've just taken that a step further and worked with vocational school programs and other external partner groups as a primary source of talent to build a more robust pipeline because of the tech shortage that has
▶ 1:10:51Yeah. I'll I'll ask you guys a general question. Kind of jumping off over side here. Do you feel the problem is more we don't have enough people to get involved in these or is the problem more we need meaning more apprenticeships openings? You see what I'm saying? We agree we need more people on skills, but where where is the bottom neck?
▶ 1:11:15Not enough people want to become a a skilled tradesman, or we don't have enough slots for apprentices.
▶ 1:11:24For our industry, we find that the biggest bottleneck is really incentivizing mentors to continue the scalability of the program. We have a lot of interest in people coming into the industry and the marketplace, but it takes a mentor to be able to have an apprentice, and growing and scaling that program is costly.
▶ 1:11:48Mr. Ross, same question.
▶ 1:11:51Well, you know, in healthcare and teaching as I said, employers are at the table. They haven't seen shortages like this in their lifetimes, and in the very same schools where we don't have enough teachers, there's people already working there. They're working as classroom aids, in the lunchroom, as paraeducators. If only they could actually get trained, they could rise up, double their salary in some states, and become teachers.
▶ 1:12:13You say you mentioned nurses. You think the problem is there not enough slots? If I want to become a nurse, there not enough slots?
▶ 1:12:21I think nursing's interesting. One of the challenges in nursing is the practice of not paying clinical rotations, and an apprenticeship is a paid job. So, a challenge is bringing together a nursing board and the programmatic accreditors and the employers and higher ed, and getting them to do a model that looks like an apprenticeship. It takes coordination. Some states have figured this out like Alabama, but it's been a barrier, and it's something that we need to overcome if we're going to address the nursing
▶ 1:12:49Thank you. I guess that's I took my time.
▶ 1:12:53Thank you. Uh now I'd like to recognize my friend from Oregon, Ms. Bonamici.
▶ 1:12:58Uh thank you, Chairman Rokita. Member, thank thank you so much to the witnesses. Um high-quality apprenticeships, we know, can create a path to employment, build a highly skilled workforce, level the playing field for individuals with barriers to employment. I've been a long-time supporter uh of the apprenticeship programs. We need more paid work-based learning opportunities to prepare the workforce for in-demand jobs, and I've been watching interestingly the uh extension of apprenticeships to non-traditional fields. It we usually usually people thought, "Oh, that would only be in the trades." But uh that's expanding.
▶ 1:13:28But but it's critical that these opportunities provide meaningful and high-quality uh training and skills development for participants. And in March, the Department of Labor released new guidance on registered apprenticeships. I recently led a letter with Ranking Member Adams, which she uh mentioned in the opening statement, to the Department's Acting Secretary expressing concerns that the guidance will weaken the high standards for registered apprenticeship programs and fall short of providing the high-quality training opportunities workers need. So, Mr.
▶ 1:13:56Ladd, you served as administrator for the Employment and Training Administration's Office of Apprenticeship for 17 years. Uh as I mentioned, this uh this administration is loosening standards. They removed any time-based guardrails on completing a competency-based standards. Uh and you've recommended in the past that a minimum of 1 year of training is important, but is it I want to ask, is it a good idea to remove minimum time requirements for apprenticeships, which seems to put speed over skill?
▶ 1:14:26Is that a good idea?
▶ 1:14:31Sorry, did it again. Uh I appreciate the question and and appreciate the concerns. Um you know, the the 1 year uh minimum uh requirement for apprenticeship, I think it's something that that is embedded throughout the the process for determining uh which occupations can be apprenticable.
▶ 1:14:50And so, you know, I I think the broader context on on the guidance is that the system is still learning how to utilize these models of competency-based apprenticeship hybrid models. And we put out guidance earlier because we felt like there were there were a lot of questions about how do you do this? How do you How do you track and assess competency-based programs compared to time-based programs?
▶ 1:15:16I do think, you know, we need a more structural solution to to this issue. One where we recognize occupations for the occupation itself divorced from the training approach. We shouldn't be defining occupations as time-based or competency. An electrician is an
▶ 1:15:36Right. Right. There's not a competency-based electrician.
▶ 1:15:39And then how how the sponsor assesses progress through that program should be determined by by by the program. But if we had if we make that determination at the beginning, I think we could avoid some of these these
▶ 1:15:53Thank you. I appreciate that. And And you know, the administration has this very lofty goal of adding another 1 million apprentices. Uh Mr. Ladd, between November 2024 and November 2025, the department reduced its workforce by a 14% including a loss of more than 150 staffers from from ETA. They cut millions of dollars of previously awarded grants for apprenticeship programs and research including about $14 million to reach university. I'm sure Mr. Ross is familiar with that.
▶ 1:16:23Uh the Trump administration's proposed fiscal year 2027 budget would cut the ETA's funding by another 3.5 billion dollars. And that's a decrease of about 26% from 2026. So, how will the decrease capacity at the Department of Labor affect apprenticeship programs? And will this proposal for the department to There's this proposal that's there that the department should approve new applications in 30 days, which seems totally unrealistic.
▶ 1:16:52So, what can we expect? Can they approve new high-quality apprenticeship programs within 30 days? I think actually that part of the process is not the the the challenge in the system. The the challenge in the system is around convening employers and bringing them together to develop the the training standards. The the approval processes are fairly quick.
▶ 1:17:18And so, I don't think that is as much of an issue, but I do believe that there are capacity challenges at the federal level. And I do think, as I mentioned in my testimony, that you know, we need to have clear roles at both the federal and state level.
▶ 1:17:35And there needs to be a strong federal role, including providing adequate resources to meet goals, to set policy direction, to provide technical assistance, to provide data systems, and and set performance accountability systems. So, there is a clear role for the federal
▶ 1:17:53Absolutely. And that but that that requires the funding and the staff. And I just want to say that, you know, budgets reflect our policy priorities. And this administration has their goal of reaching 1 million new apprenticeships, but their actions and their budget proposal shows that they are not serious about making that Instead, it's uh another broken promise from this administration.
▶ 1:18:14And just as a reminder, we are spending the country is is spending about between 800 and 90 million dollars and 2 billion dollars per day on the war. That money should go to education and other things that actually help American people. And I yield back.
▶ 1:18:30Thank you. I'd like to now recognize my friend from Guam, Ms. Bordallo.
▶ 1:18:34Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome, panel. Thank you for your We could really use a lot more apprentice in Guam, especially with the large military build-up that's ongoing. It's about every skilled labor is needed on the island. It's difficult to get folks train from the mainland coming on over just because the distance, the travel time. It's a way, way, way far away from home.
▶ 1:19:00So, uh we're relying right now for this build-up alike dealing with our H-2B workers that come from our allies in the Philippines. At the same time, we're looking at building up our apprenticeship programs. And one thing I added into as an amendment into the HR 8800, the NDAA, uh specifically uh regards the expansion of eligible education programs under the smart defense education program.
▶ 1:19:29So, I'm just going to read it to you and then hopefully you can tell me if this helps you folks out and uh taking care of some of the struggles that you're having with the apprenticeship program. So, uh it amends and it strikes out is pursuing an associate's degree under graduate degree or advanced degree in critical skill or discipline uh described in sub at an accredited uh college or higher education.
▶ 1:19:54And then it inserts is pursuing an associate's undergraduate degree, advanced degree in critical skill or discipline described at an accredited institution for higher education or career and technical education, vocational education, apprenticeship or workforce uh credentialing program. So, we added uh to the uh smart defense education program.
▶ 1:20:25And I'm wondering if you have uh Do you feel this will be helpful? Uh and if so, why? And especially for rural folks like a way out here in Guam. Please, whoever wishes to start.
▶ 1:20:39I do you think it's helpful because one of the barriers to expanding apprenticeship is the degree to which, if you will, higher education comes in too expensive and imposing debt. And that's something that I think Reach University has shown is not not required. I have a fun memory of visiting Guam when I was in the Navy and every part of this country should have opportunity for the people who live where they came from so they can rise up.
▶ 1:21:05And so I think your amendment helps support that and allows us to think of on-the-job work is counting for regular academic and it can be done a number of different ways. And so I think expanding opportunity is the first step.
▶ 1:21:22I'd be happy to weigh in on that one as well. Thank you for the question and I'm not volunteering to come to Guam in civil electrical program but we have online I'll be happy to get you set up with that. But additionally, through the electrical industry we talked about that there's many different outlets and one of the contractors in where I was the executive director down in Florida previously works with government and he needed a cybersecurity program because all of his electricians needed to be cybersecurity trained as well. And just actually today or yesterday our cybersecurity standards were submitted to state of Florida for approval.
▶ 1:21:51So that's cybersecurity and an amendment like that would help him with individuals that are able to take on these cybersecurity that are all connecting with what was it traditional skilled trades but they need that to be able to build actually I think in Guam.
▶ 1:22:06Anybody else? Thank you thank you panel. Thank you Mr.
▶ 1:22:11Thank you. I'd like to recognize my friend from New Jersey, Mr. Norcross.
▶ 1:22:17Thank you Mr. Chairman. Thank you for holding this important hearing on apprenticeship. I'd remind everybody apprenticeship is just a method of instruction that is different. Uh The narrative in this country that we've heard is you have to go to college to make it. We've heard that for years, and I think that has impacted uh the mentors, which are called mom and dad, of where they suggest their child might go through. I have three kids.
▶ 1:22:46Uh one's a doctor, one's a lawyer, and one's an electrician. Only one of them has his house paid for. No college debt, and has a pension that we all would like. Yeah, it's the My granddaughter started her first day on the job as an electrical apprentice up in South Jersey. We understand that apprenticeships are incredibly important. We typically look at the building trades as that core for apprenticeships.
▶ 1:23:1517 In 2017, this visited Germany and Switzerland to see their different models, which are vastly different in the scope of what they look at it, whether it's the insurance industry, medical, uh health care. The list goes on and on. the idea that we in this country look at that diploma as the goal has nothing to do with it. It's your career.
▶ 1:23:42It's what you're instructing, what you need to do at the end of the day. And for the building trades, I think it has been proven not only cost-effective, but over time they have perfected this year after year. Uh I entered my apprenticeship in And I spent the first half of my life as an electrician. I know it well. We dealt with our apprentices all over.
▶ 1:24:08In fact, coming out of the IBEW, which I'm so proud of, we have a 97% graduation rate. That's incredibly important when we start talking about retention. Nobody comes close to that. Because this is one of the issues that has come up as a registered program. And I'll speak more specifically at building Is a registered program so important because it's about portability.
▶ 1:24:35Construction by its nature has peaks and valleys. They build some things over there, people have to move around. And this is a remarkable thing about registered program that there are standards that if I'm an electrician grown up in South Jersey, but all of a sudden in Virginia they're building six new uh data centers. I can go down there and just by my gives you the competency that you can go right to work. You know what they mean.
▶ 1:25:06If you're going to build some exquisite system in manufacturing, you can create that apprenticeship program based on that site and what goes on. There is a huge difference when we talk about apprenticeship programs that have the consistency that you need across the board and some of the more exquisite ones that we're talking about. It does not take any approval from the federal government. Let's be absolutely clear. To start an apprenticeship program, you're allowed to do it tomorrow.
▶ 1:25:35Any company doesn't need approval from But somehow we're told this takes too long. It doesn't take a long time to get electrical apprenticeship. There are thousands of programs that they can take and look at it and then tailor it for them. The idea is making sure that Department of Labor, Department of Education are there for approval and This is where it gets sticky. When we want federal government to pay for the apprenticeship program, is when everything changes.
▶ 1:26:06Within the building trades, they pay for it themselves. They don't come to government saying, "Please give us money to train people." So, going to your point that those group employers, we have the joint apprenticeship. I think they work wonderfully because you have the employer groups and the contractors working together to build this.
▶ 1:26:29And this is why specifically in building trades, registered programs are incredibly important because of portability. So, uh Mr. Ladd, talk to us about the registered programs, particularly in the building trades, and why that is important. I just mentioned electrical. Electricity is the same here as it is out west, but the carpenters, everything else, why is this so important for portability?
▶ 1:27:01I think I think you really set set it well. Um the standards that are developed by industry ensures that that portability. The registered apprenticeship piece means that the training, uh the instruction that you mentioned, has all of the required elements, not just some of the elements, it has all of the elements, and that it leads to occupational proficiency, not a narrow credential or a narrow certificate.
▶ 1:27:26This person is now able to fully do that job, and that's what really signifies registered apprenticeship from an unregistered apprenticeship program.
▶ 1:27:34Thank you. I see my time has expired. I yield back.
▶ 1:27:38Thank you. I'd like to uh recognize my friend from North Carolina, Mr. Harris.
▶ 1:27:42Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and uh thank you all the panel uh for this very, very important hearing and the subject matter that we're talking about today. Um as already been referenced, the Trump administration has a focus on scaling apprenticeships with the goal of reaching and surpassing 1 million new active apprentices as part of his executive order 14278 that was titled preparing Americans for high-paying skilled trade jobs in the future.
▶ 1:28:11And as you know, to reach this goal, the administration's taken steps to reduce administrative barriers within the registered apprenticeship pro system and provide additional resources to states, additional resources to territories to increase the capacity of registered apprenticeship programs and highlight the apprenticeships opportunities during the National Apprenticeship Week. So, Mr. Ross, I want I want to just come to you.
▶ 1:28:36There was something you said in your written testimony that I had read prior to getting here this morning that struck me. And I And you discussed the fact, and I quote, workforce shortages and untapped talent sit side by side, often in the same building. So, how has Reach University worked to correct that issue?
▶ 1:28:58Well, thank thank you for the question, and it is really an opportunity, when you think about it. We should embrace the talent in communities so people can rise up where they come from. Lots of times, there communities where teachers come from somewhere else and nurses come from somewhere else, but they can also come from where you are. One of the things we we we did is we made sure that our costs could be controlled. Higher ed has had 50 plus years of the assumption living with the assumption that there's unlimited debt without underwriting.
▶ 1:29:26And that's I think created created a sky-rocketing cost of higher education. So, we really addressed this first by making a commitment that no one would pay out of pocket more than $75 a month, and the rest would be covered by the employer workforce dollars and the like. Pell grants as well.
▶ 1:29:44Well, that's huge. And the Trump administration has made a concerted effort to focus on outcomes and not simply just completion in workforce development programs. And I think that's a critically important point, and I'd like to know, Mr. Ross, can you share how the apprenticeship degree graduates compare with the traditional graduates in terms of employment and and their earnings outcomes?
▶ 1:30:07Well, thank you for the question. At Reach University and at the other universities working with our National Center for the Apprenticeship Degree, we're seeing stronger completion stronger licensure rates, and and wage gains. Let me give an example. The The average completion rate for someone with an associate degree when they transfer into a four-year institution is less than 25% in two And in these apprenticeship degree programs at Reach, it's well over 70% within two years.
▶ 1:30:38And that is a very big difference because the job and the higher education and the training are all woven together. Another thing we're seeing is learners are choosing apprenticeship degree programs when they have an option. The College of New Jersey with our help at the center launched a master's degree in mental health counseling. They offered it both as a apprenticeship and also a traditional pathway. 70% of the applicants chose the apprenticeship pathway.
▶ 1:31:02So, we're beginning to see in the emergence of this model really solid data, and I certainly hope it grows.
▶ 1:31:09Well, those are definitely significant. Ms. Angel, there's a growing problem in the United States that we're facing, and that's the mismatch between the skills employers need and the preparation that many workers receive through the traditional education and training pathways. Across the country, we see that while there are millions of job openings, employers are still having difficulty recruiting workers with the skills they need to fill the positions in high-demand industries.
▶ 1:31:34And while we want to ensure that the local labor market needs are met with apprenticeship programs, how do your programs at Caliber Collision account for differences across all the communities that you serve? Thank you for the question. I appreciate Um you know, we're we're definitely a shop-by-shop basis. For us, everything is very dependent upon the location. Do they need an apprentice? Do they have an available mentor?
▶ 1:32:05We have a a model set up for anyone to embrace, but it's about the people in that location. Cars are everywhere. We should be able to train anywhere and get you close to where you want to live. We operate currently in several rural communities where there may not be access to some higher education, so it becomes even more critical in those communities that we have our own program, our own people are able to create that journey for those
▶ 1:32:35And I was quite interested that in your testimony you mentioned that North Carolina was a major hub for your program. Can you just quickly discuss and our time's about out the impact that hub has had in moving North Carolinians into the workforce in North North
▶ 1:32:50Absolutely. We have a Changing Lanes program in North Carolina where we work with Fayetteville Technical Community College to transition military members into civilian life where every member is guaranteed job placement upon completion of a 12-week apprentice program offered at that school.
▶ 1:33:10Awesome. Thank you, ma'am. Mr. Chairman, our time's Thank you. I'd like to introduce my friend Mr. Grava.
▶ 1:33:18Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Registered apprenticeships are the gold standard for workforce training delivering an incredible $28 public return for every $1 of investment. However, with national completion rates stuck below 50%, the growth recently plateauing, we must address the cycles of progress and disruption that these that prevent these programs from reaching their full potential.
▶ 1:33:42In my district, Pima Community College in Arizona, reports that rigid barriers including a reliance on temporary grants, inflexible time-based training, and restrictive one-to-one mentoring ratios are sidelining willing employers. Mr.
▶ 1:34:00Ladd, as you have identified the reauthorization of the National Apprenticeship Act along with sustained investment, stronger employer incentive incentives, better data, and long-term national growth and innovation strategy as the clearest path to durable modernization. I'd like to direct my questions in alignment to some of those operational hurdles.
▶ 1:34:21So, um while federal grant opportunities has have successfully launched pilot apprenticeship programs, community colleges and local employers often find that grants do not foster um scalable or sustainable change once funding cycle ends. What permanent scalable incentives, such as robust federal tax credits or streamlined operational subsidies, should Congress consider encouraging employers to permanently embed registered apprenticeships into their long-term business models?
▶ 1:34:53Uh I appreciate the question. Um you as you know, we are pivoting right now from a grant-based kind of approach to a a pay-for-perform performance model that the department is moving forward on. Um so, I think that is going to be an important experiment that we look at over the next few years to see whether larger grants to fewer entities, which I do think was necessary early on in the growth of the system.
▶ 1:35:19There just was not a lot of um people that were ready to to adopt apprenticeship, move it forward. But, I think after about 10 years now, we were ready to to try new approaches. We're trying pay-for-performance. Um I think that's going to be important that we look at the results and the outcomes from that, and whether that's sufficient and whether there's sufficient resources uh to support that to scale.
▶ 1:35:46And if not, maybe tax incentives are are a a better way to do that. Um but, I think you have to pair both the demand driver, whether that is a tax credit or pay for performance, with really solid technical assistance. uh I also want to stress the really important role that intermediaries play.
▶ 1:36:08We've talked a lot about the role that labor unions have played as intermediaries, but community colleges, community-based organizations, almost any organization, JFF serves as an intermediary. And that is critical to reducing the friction in the system, making it easier for apprentice uh employers to to engage in apprenticeship programs, to reach scale, uh and ultimately also about
▶ 1:36:34Yeah, I appreciate your openness to exploring and and being somewhat positive about pay for performance. In education, I've not found it to be at all helpful. I think it's a disincentive in a lot of cases. And um one of the things that I've noticed while I was on the school board and also as a Pima County supervisor, is that we rarely look at where the demands are. We just we sort of set up these programs and then continue to fund those same programs regardless of the demand.
▶ 1:37:03And that I think is where we really need to work more closely with our K-12 systems and um nonprofit organizations um and being able to pivot. And that's where I think our community colleges can be really helpful, too.
▶ 1:37:17And to that point, I mean we talk about the the great impact that um apprenticeship and uh the construction industry, that relationship that's that exists, but there is powerful incentives within the construction industry through Davis-Bacon to participate in apprenticeship. Those are meaningful incentives for employers to utilize apprenticeship that do not exist outside of construction.
▶ 1:37:41So, it does show where there are incentives that work and are meaningful to the employer, the you know, the market does respond to them.
▶ 1:37:50I have like three more questions and we can talk a lot more, but I have like 26 Um so with that I'll say, you know, I appreciate the important us identifying the importance of this issue in apprenticeships with a hearing cuz I think it's really beneficial. It's going to benefit our nation, but also the fact that we can go at this in a bipartisan way um to really um have the greatest impact. So thank you so much and I um
▶ 1:38:16Thank you. I'd like to now turn to recognize my friend from Virginia, uh Mr. Scott.
▶ 1:38:21Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 1:38:23Um Mr. Ladd, uh apprenticeships have been recommended because of high standards, national recognition, and an affordable path to credentials. Can you say how the Department of Labor maintains the high standards? Can you say how how the Department of Labor, the registration process, uh guarantees the high standards?
▶ 1:38:48So the Department acts as a registration agency, so they, like state apprenticeship agencies, are responsible for ensuring that every program that is registered meets the regulatory requirements for registration, which were laid out in the 2008 regulations, um which are very clear about the uh the the combination of on-the-job learning with related instruction, that there must be a progressive wage, there there uh
▶ 1:39:18that the credential must lead to occupational uh proficiency. So it's that enforcement and application of those requirements for registration is a key way that that DOL in their role as a registration agency upholds standards, but they also play a broader role across the system through technical assistance, support, uh investment in electronic tools and resources to help move the entire system forward.
▶ 1:39:48And can you say a word about national Again, it's rooted in this idea that when occupations are deemed to be that the training for those occupations are aligned to a consistent standard.
▶ 1:40:06So, it's not just the training or certificate developed by a single employer or a single entity, it's the industry that tells the department or state apprenticeship agency, these are the required skills for our industry.
▶ 1:40:22And that certificate of completion then certifies that that individual is proficient in all of those occupants all of those competencies, and that is now a portable credential that can be recognized across the country, across the industry.
▶ 1:40:38And we've heard how it's affordable because you earn while you learn. You end up with no debt. So, it's obviously Are there Traditionally, apprenticeships are found in the building trades. Are there other job categories where you could expand the apprenticeship model like healthcare, finance, or technology?
▶ 1:41:04Every every industry could benefit from greater utilization of apprenticeship. And we have seen really tremendous growth. It's really in just the last two or three years, actually the number of in occupations outside of construction larger than the number of those in construction.
▶ 1:41:26So, we have reached this tipping point where there's actually more apprentices outside of construction, but that is spread out over many industries. Construction is still by far the the number one industry employing apprentices across the country. And we're seeing growth in in every industry from manufacturing to IT to finance to to healthcare and others.
▶ 1:41:52And I believe that the apprenticeship model can be utilized in every industry for almost every occupation.
▶ 1:42:00Thank you. And can you say a word about the importance of access to registered apprenticeships for youth and other populations such as those involved in the criminal justice system?
▶ 1:42:15You know, as I mentioned earlier in in my testimony, you know, we believe it's really important to think about how these different program models fit together and that they can create pathways that can bring an individual from pre-apprenticeship through youth apprenticeship into an apprenticeship or degree-based apprenticeship.
▶ 1:42:36And they really should not be seen as fracturing or you know, splintering the system into these different models, but that they fit together as a cohesive whole and can provide access for women, underrepresented populations, and others that may be underrepresented in the current apprenticeship system.
▶ 1:42:57And you mentioned accountability as an important part of reauthorization. What measures should we look to if we're going to hold people
▶ 1:43:08Thank you for that question. There's currently only one measure that is required through the current regulations and that is completion rates and that is basically a system measure. Entered employment, retention, and wages are measures that we've adopted at the federal level because we've used those across most other federal employment and training programs, but they are not established in the regulations or in the law.
▶ 1:43:36So, the key measures of wages, entered employment, retention, and credential attainment at a minimum are some of the measures Congress should look at.
▶ 1:43:46Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 1:43:49Thank you. I want to thank my witnesses our witnesses once again and we'll now move toward our closing remarks. I'd like to recognize Dr. Adams for her closing remarks.
▶ 1:43:58Thank you, Mr. Chairman and and thank you to the witnesses for for today's discussion. It's been not interesting, uh but certainly I've learned a lot. I've been in the classroom for 40 years, but I realize that there's always an opportunity to learn.
▶ 1:44:16Just a few months ago, I was on the campus in Arkansas Arkansas Baptist College and with Representative Hill uh and when the president there said something was really interesting. It's It's It's They They They have a program that allows young people to It's kind of like an apprentice program, actually.
▶ 1:44:41They get jobs and one of the things he said that kind of stood out and I remember as as I listened to you all, "Skills to pay the bills." And so, I I thought that was that was kind of a take on what we were talking about. But but Americans are fighting to pay their bills to to fill their gas tank and to put food on the table in an economy that puts billionaires first and hard-working families last.
▶ 1:45:04And we should be focused on making it easier for for workers to get better jobs and earn higher wages to support their families. And registered apprenticeships are really one of the best tools to make that a reality. So, I really thank you for your comments. Uh subcommittee Democrats and I welcome any bipartisan support for registered apprenticeships, but talk is is cheap.
▶ 1:45:26We believe any positive comments must be backed up with concrete action to invest in workforce development and create high quality And then finally, let me just touch on a point that's been raised uh during this hearing today. Vital career tracks uh such as nursing uh continue to face issues with with retention. Workforce training is necessary, but but but not sufficient to solve the the root problem.
▶ 1:45:53So, at the end of the day, workers are struggling with poor job conditions with low hours and low pay. Uh a leaking budget uh bucket cannot be fixed simply by pouring more water in it. And so, if we want to boost our economy and truly support workers, then we must take uh care of the workers already in in the those roles by raising the minimum wage and empowering workers to collectively bargain for higher pay, safer workplaces, and better benefits.
▶ 1:46:23So again, I thank you all for your testimony today, Mr. Chairman. I yield
▶ 1:46:28Thank you. First of all, thank you uh for for what you're doing. That this is uh the stakeholders that actually will be providing remarkable results in the incoming years. As we got together earlier, I I made a a comment something I heard recently. productive capacity equals power. I want us to keep that in mind.
▶ 1:46:49The last time we saw true productive capacity equal equating to power was in our my dad's generation came back from World War II. They were given something called the GI You're talking about a generation that got really busy. They went out there to educate themselves, they started businesses, they built their families, and we saw the greatest middle class ever in the history of our country from the '50s to the '70s. We're on that age right now. We're doing the same thing cuz we're now recognizing first a couple things.
▶ 1:47:21and I will I want to say this before we get into the power that we're seeing this topic right here is about Uh we we get it. We realize that we have to get our kids ready to move out and go to work. It's going to come down to innovation from people like yourself, our states, our um administration, the Department of Education put together something called the CTO, connecting talent with opportunity.
▶ 1:47:45It just came out December, $15 million incentive for states to work to actually to work with employers, employees, um to work with states, um uh colleges to make sure we can have interoperability, have the same common uh language. We have something called the Match Act that we're putting together that will allow these kind of com- conversations where you can have portability.
▶ 1:48:09We can have somebody uh in a different state training themselves and that understanding of that skill set is now accepted elsewhere. We're at a point that we're having conversations we've never had before at such a great time for our for our country, and our kids deserve it. Uh we have the the sharpest, smartest opportunities, our kids have with opportunities in this country cuz we believe in freedom. We believe in opportunity, big dreams.
▶ 1:48:33So, I'm excited about where we are today, the fact that we're having this conversation uh at a time where we're going to start to see more and more needs for what we're talking about right now. We're going to be building a remarkable economy over the next couple of coming years. We need to have our kids ready for it. So, I'm I'm excited about that process. Um They're uh being Apprenticeships are being portable, being very viable, being verifiable, being trusted, innovation. So, let's continue to do that.
▶ 1:49:01I'll make I'd like to make sure just an invite from myself. Let's make sure we stay in touch. We'll make sure that over the coming year or so that we really are communicating on how do we make sure that our workforce is is doing the things they want to do and they get the dream power they want to have. So, that being said, I really appreciate again you being here. Uh I'd like to thank our witnesses again for taking the time to testify for our subcommittee today. Without objection, there being no further business, the subcommittee now stands adjourned. Thanks again.
▶ 1:49:29Good job.