Biden Aims for Expanded Apprenticeships With Industry Skeptical

A new executive order instructing the federal government to prioritize registered apprenticeship participants in their contracting and grant decisions could be a catalyst for expanding job training opportunities in industries desperate for high-skilled workers.

But employers, whose buy-in would be essential to any growth in the registered apprenticeship system, are skeptical that the US Labor Department’s program should be the vehicle for delivering those new training opportunities to workers, raising concerns about the process and requirements to participate.

The order, announced March 6, instructs federal agencies to prioritize grant applicants and contract bidders that have hired former apprentices when doling ...