**This Funding Opportunity Announcement solicits applications for Round 2 of the Apprenticeship Building America (ABA2) grant program. The Department will award grants to continue to expand, diversify, and strengthen the Registered Apprenticeship system through support for public and private partnerships designed to serve a range of industries and individuals and promote Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) as a workforce development solution that translates training into good jobs. ABA2 provides funding for three categories of grants: (1) Ensuring Equitable RAP Pathways and Partnerships Through Pre-apprenticeship Leading to RAP Enrollment, (2) Creation of Education System-aligned Pre apprenticeship and RAPs, and (3) Registered Apprenticeship Hubs.**
The need for a coordinated national investment strategy for Registered Apprenticeship is critical to support the Administration's goals and priorities, particularly with the groundbreaking passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The ABA grant program builds on the Department's previous and ongoing efforts to expand and modernize Registered Apprenticeship through expanding the number of programs and apprentices, diversifying the industries that utilize Registered Apprenticeship, and increasing access to and completion of RAPs for underrepresented populations and underserved communities
The Department has made significant strides in expanding Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAP) opportunities over the last 10 years by registering over 1.9 million apprentices and creating over 13,500 new RAPs. The Biden Administration supports the expansion of Registered Apprenticeship, including youth apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeships that lead to RAPs. The Administration is focused not only on expanding the number of programs and apprentices, but also diversifying the industries that utilize Registered Apprenticeship and increasing access to, and completion of, RAPs for underrepresented populations and underserved communities.
Collectively, ABA grantees will work with a range of partners to support the development of the Registered Apprenticeship ecosystem and meet the following goals:
- build and modernize state apprenticeship systems;
- expand RAP opportunities for youth;
- ensure equitable RAP pathways through pre-apprenticeship leading to RAP enrollment and equity partnerships; and
- invest in apprenticeship hubs to facilitate the establishment, scaling, and expansion of RAPs in new and fast-growing industries and occupations.
In addressing these goals, applicants must incorporate specified cross-cutting principles fundamental to the ABA grant program to ensure access to quality RAPs for all Americans. These include 1) equity, 2) job quality, 3) support for high quality, scalable, and sustainable programs, 4) evidence-based approaches, and 5) new opportunities for innovation, engagement, and ease of access
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) solicits applications for the ABA grant program to support a coordinated, national investment strategy that aims to strengthen and modernize the RAP system centered on equity and promote Registered Apprenticeship as a workforce development solution. The ABA grant program will fund grants in four categories that advance the set of core principles noted above. Applicants have the opportunity to apply for funding across four grant categories:
Category 1: State Apprenticeship System Building and Modernization:
Grantees will coordinate RAP expansion and system building efforts at a state level across a wide array of industry sectors with employers, labor organizations, educational institutions, industry groups, joint labor-management partnerships, workforce and apprenticeship intermediaries, community based organizations, and other non-profit and public sector partners. Grantees will develop strategies to improve coordination efforts around system alignment, data quality and use, program expansion into target industries, and goals and strategies to ensure equity in RAPs, and also facilitate other data sharing, system change, and governance requirements to comply with the law and ensure a strong and modernized Registered Apprenticeship system.
Category 2: Expansion of RAP Opportunities for Youth
Grantees will establish and expand partnerships that commit to expanding RAPs and/or pre-apprenticeship programs that lead to RAP enrollment for youth through coordination with industry, workforce intermediaries, labor organizations, K-12 districts, community colleges, youth-serving and community-based organizations, and other stakeholders.
Category 3: Ensuring Equitable RAP Pathways
Through Pre-apprenticeship Leading to RAP Enrollment and Equity Partnerships: Grantees will establish and develop equity-centered public-private partnerships with pre-apprenticeships leading to RAP enrollment that aim to increase diversity and equity in apprenticeship for underrepresented populations and underserved communities.
Category 4: Registered Apprenticeship Hubs:
Grantees will establish a Registered Apprenticeship Hub by forming a multi-partner network capable of serving as a RAP sponsor or intermediary with the primary focus of supporting industry's needs for creating and expanding RAPs in new and emerging sectors and occupations.
Cross-Cutting Principles: Across all four grant categories, the ABA grants will incorporate the following cross-cutting principles into their projects to support the Administration's goal of ensuring quality jobs for all workers:
- Equity: Focus on expanding the diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) of RAPs into new and traditional industries to improve outcomes for workers from underrepresented populations and underserved communities.
- Job Quality: Focus on promoting RAPs as a key strategy to move workers into good jobs across all industries – especially critical, in-demand industries and occupations defined by the Administration
- Support for high-quality, sustainable programs: Focus on ensuring that all RAPs have the features of high-quality apprenticeships, such as progressive wage increase and national industry-recognized credential, and that those efforts support a broader workforce development agenda to support a sustainable apprenticeship system on a national scale
- Evidence-based approaches: Incorporate strategies to improve the efficient and effective use of evidence- and research-based approaches to support workforce development initiatives involving RAPs
- New opportunities for innovation, engagement, and ease of access: Focus on innovative strategies that support the expansion and modernization of RAPs, which may include, but are not limited to: engaging with new and underrepresented organizations in the apprenticeship system
Full details of ABA2 awards can be found at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/investments-tax-credits-and-tuition-support/apprenticeship-building-america-aba2
ABA grantees are highly encouraged to collaborate with existing DOL-funded RAP investments to promote expansion of the program, as well as the Department's broader Registered Apprenticeship diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) efforts such as the Department's existing investments focusing on DEIA, including Industry Intermediary contracts and the Registered Apprenticeship Technical Assistance Center of Excellence. This collaboration will leverage and align efforts to maximize the use of resources and minimize the duplication of efforts, ultimately ensuring the core customers of the RAP system are served efficiently.
RAPs and pre-apprenticeships leading to RAP enrollment that are funded and developed under this grant program must align with the requirements outlined below.