Apprenticeships: Closing the Skills Gap

This Announcement solicits applications for the Apprenticeships: Closing the Skills Gap grant program.  The purpose of this program is to promote apprenticeships as a significant workforce solution in filling current middle- and high-skilled job vacancies and closing the skills gap between employer workforce needs and the skills of the current workforce. 
In June 2017, the President issued Executive Order 13801 on Expanding Apprenticeship in America, which lays out an expansive vision for apprenticeship that would increase the number of apprentices in the nation to an unprecedented level across all industries.  The overarching goals of this grant program are threefold: (1) to accelerate the expansion of apprenticeships to new industry sectors and occupations, such as cybersecurity and those involving artificial intelligence; (2) to promote the large-scale expansion of apprenticeships across the nation to a range of employers, including small- and medium-sized employers; and (3) to increase apprenticeship opportunities for all Americans.