White House Drops Labor Agency’s Apprenticeship Overhaul (1)

A broad overhaul of the US Labor Department’s 80-year-old registered apprenticeship program was quietly dropped by the White House.

The rule, marked as “withdrawn” on the Office of Management and Budget’s website Nov. 27, sought to introduce several wholesale changes to the requirements job training programs must meet in order to receive DOL’s registered apprenticeship accreditation.

Some aspects of the nearly 800-page proposed version of the rule drew criticism from both labor and industry groups, who said it would limit flexibility in the job training programs they offer and restrict training programs from expanding into new industries, among other ...