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President Trump has spent a lot of time unraveling the policies of his predecessor, but there is one strategy of President Biden's that he's embraced - using apprenticeships to build a strong American workforce. President Trump's goal is to get 1 million active apprenticeships, and NPR's Andrea Hsu reports on whether that's achievable.
ANDREA HSU, BYLINE: The idea behind apprenticeships is you earn while you learn, no need for an expensive college degree. Last April, President Trump signed an executive order pledging to bring apprenticeships to new industries, and the Labor Department followed up with an appeal on Instagram.
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UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: The new era of American dominance will be forged not by woke universities, but by the grid of our skilled workers. Are you ready to help produce, power and build the golden age of America?
HSU: Now, apprenticeships have long enjoyed bipartisan support. They're seen as a solution for employers who can't find the workers they need and workers who can't find good paying jobs. Zach Boren, who worked at the Labor Department under presidents Obama and Trump, says the model has had real success in other countries like Germany and Switzerland.
ZACH BOREN: They have a real culture and history of apprenticeships. You know, in Switzerland, 70% of young people go to an apprenticeship versus going to college.
HSU: They earn while they learn in a variety of industries like health care, IT, social work and retail, and then some do end up going to college. Boren is now with the nonprofit Apprenticeships for America. He thinks the U.S. should take a page from Switzerland.
BOREN: If we want to build data centers, if we want to build semiconductor plants, if we're going to invest in these huge infrastructure projects, we need the skilled workforce to do it. And we simply have not thought about what that investment looks like and done it properly.
HSU: There are currently around 700,000 registered apprentices in the U.S. - registered meaning their apprenticeships meet strict government standards. That's an 80% increase over the last decade.
BOREN: So we're seeing, like, tremendous growth.
HSU: And the White House says that growth is set to accelerate, but Zach Boren isn't so sure. The Trump administration canceled millions of dollars of contracts last year, aimed at growing apprenticeships in fields such as clean energy. Also, the latest jobs report shows employers are shedding jobs. That doesn't bode well for apprenticeships, and Trump hasn't asked Congress for any more money to support his apprenticeship goal. Appropriations have been stuck at 285 million since 2023.
BOREN: It's a fraction of what we spend on education.
HSU: A tiny fraction - Boren says the reality just hasn't lived up to the rhetoric.
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UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: American workers first isn't just a slogan, it's a promise.
HSU: Again, from the Labor Department's Instagram.
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UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: A promise to provide our future generations of workers with the skills needed to thrive.
HSU: To make real progress on apprenticeships, Zach Boren says you need a level of funding that starts not with an M, but a B. And he says to be on par with Germany and Switzerland, the goal shouldn't be 1 million apprenticeships.
BOREN: We have a goal of getting to 4 million apprenticeships in the United States over the next 10 years.
HSU: In a statement, the Labor Department told NPR it believes its workforce strategies will drive unprecedented growth in apprenticeships. The administration is spending nearly $200 million to focus on high-priority sectors - manufacturing, AI, health care and more. Already, manufacturers can get up to $3,500 for every new apprenticeship they create. I talked to Nick Beadle about this. He used to track spending on workforce initiatives at the Labor Department and is now a consultant.
NICK BEADLE: The question is, is this money enough? And, you know, the response I heard immediately from people as soon as the dollars hit the street in early February was, yeah, this isn't going to cut it.
HSU: Because running an apprenticeship isn't cheap. There are the startup costs, outside training you have to pay for, wages that go up over time. Now, the upside for companies - greater productivity and lower turnover.
BEADLE: The returns long-term are tremendous.
HSU: Returns of $1.44 for every dollar invested, according to one study cited by the Labor Department. Beadle says this is something Democrats and Republicans get excited about. But with current levels of federal investment, the question is, how many Americans will reap the rewards?
Andrea Hsu, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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