Biden Scraps Trump’s Industry-Focused Apprenticeship Program

In one of his latest executive actions, President Joe Biden has discontinued an industry-led apprenticeship system launched under the Trump administration, shifting the control over those programs back to the federal government. The Trump initiative, known as Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program (IRAP), was created in 2017 as a parallel to the existing Registered Apprenticeships, which are certified by the Labor Department or authorized state agencies. The IRAP model, however, allowed third-party private entities, such as trade and labor groups, to develop and certify apprenticeship programs they considered appropriate for each industry. The idea was that the industry groups, rather than Washington, know better what kind of apprenticeship programs would meet their industry standards.-- More...