Last month, the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable urged congressional appropriators to include report language in the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) appropriations bill that expands the Department of Labor’s in-demand industries to include those which are critical to restoring economic resiliency to our rural and under-resourced communities, many of which directly support, service, and benefit from the growing outdoor recreation economy. The in-demand industries should include disaster resilience, response and recovery, energy, resource management, transportation and infrastructure (including green infrastructure), and the outdoor recreation economy itself (including manufacturing, retail, guiding, and related services). Doing so can help DOL support Registered Apprenticeships in these fields, expanding career pathways in the outdoor recreation space and supporting a vibrant and essential sector of the economy.
Read the proposed language below:
Proposed Registered Apprenticeship Report Language
Registered Apprenticeship programs are proven to connect underrepresented, minority, and economically disadvantaged populations to career opportunities, to decrease the current skills gap, and to support the emerging and growing industries that are helping to restore economic vitality and resiliency across America.
To help address the predicted growth and workforce needs of many industries not currently categorized as “in-demand,” connect underrepresented, minority, and economically disadvantaged populations to opportunity, decrease the current skills gap, and expand Registered Apprenticeships to industries not currently utilizing the system, we propose the following report language in a Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. These changes are not unprecedented. The House recently included the following language expanding “in-demand” industries:
Current Language from House Labor-HHS FY20 Committee Report: The Committee supports the use of apprenticeship grants that provide worker education in in-demand fields, including first responder, utility (water), as well as in goods movement sectors such as global logistics, rail and other freight-related employment.
We propose the following changes to meet the growing workforce demands in the listed industries. In addition, we advocate to expand the Registered Apprenticeship program to industries not currently using or underutilizing this system. Registered apprenticeship is a proven successful model. Expanding it to more industries may address the growing skills gap, address current and future workforce needs, and create economic opportunity and growth.
Proposed Language: The Committee supports the use of apprenticeship grants that provide worker education in in-demand and emerging fields, including first responder; disaster resilience, response, and recovery; utility (energy and water) and resource management; transportation and infrastructure (including green infrastructure); goods movement sectors such as global logistics, rail and other freight-related employment; and outdoor recreation economy-related employment. The Committee is expanding in-demand industries to better reflect current and future workforce and economic opportunities and needs. Additionally, the Committee encourages the use of “next-gen” apprenticeship grants to encourage higher education institutions to support registered apprenticeships in emerging and nontraditional industries. This can expand registered apprenticeship to industries and careers that are not currently using or underutilizing this system, deliver transferable, and durable 21st century skills and create affordable transfer opportunities to a college education for our youth.
