Early in his second term, President Donald Trump announced an ambitious goal: to grow the number of new, active registered apprentices in the United States to one million. Consequent executive and legislative efforts have sought to expand apprenticeship programs in key areas, and the Labor Department has developed new guidelines to accelerate growth.
But many experts in the field say there’s still a massive gap between what the administration has done and the steps that could truly lead to that million-apprentice goal.
The No. 1 thing missing, they say, is money. The most recent House Appropriations Committee bill to fund labor, health and human services, and education proposes $290 million for apprenticeships, up $5 million from 2026. That’s on top of the $145 million to support a pay-for-performance incentive program announced earlier this year. But apprenticeship researchers and advocates say that scaling participation to that one million number is a distant dream without long-term investments in apprenticeship infrastructure and pay for instruction, staff, wages and employer incentives, where applicable.
Judge Tosses “Professional” Degree Definition
The Medical School Boom
