The purpose of this program is to support the development of new or the expansion of existing Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAP) for youth.

This also includes quality pre-apprenticeship programs that lead to a RAP.

This grant program supports the President’s Executive Order

and the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration’s goals to promote pre-apprenticeships, to develop a strong youth apprenticeship pipeline, and to expand access to youth apprenticeships.

As a result, the grant will: 1) Increase awareness and adoption of the earn-and-learn apprenticeship model as a solution for experiential learning at the secondary educational level; 2) Increase parental, young adult, and employer awareness around the benefits of youth participation in RAPs, as well as their engagement in these models; 3) Develop and expand the number of RAP opportunities for youth, ensuring they meet RAP standards and pre-apprenticeship programs are of high quality and lead to RAP; 4) Increase academic and career-focused learning among youth, based on sound assessments, to increase employability in the labor force; 5) Promote increased alignment between state education and workforce systems through the development of policies that facilitate the transition from school to a RAP; and 6) Increase RAP opportunities for all youth, particularly underrepresented populations (including women, people of color, ex-offenders, persons with disabilities), youth with barriers to employment, and out-of-school youth.