WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced Alabama and Colorado have each received $12.5 million in funding to develop resources and invest in educational pipelines that lead to more Registered Apprenticeship opportunities. These agreements advance the department’s ongoing efforts to implement presidential executive orders related to expanding the Registered Apprenticeship program, including, “Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future,” and “Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth.”“The continued growth of our nation’s Registered Apprenticeship system depends on strong federal and state partnerships. To Make America Skilled Again, we are following President Trump’s direction to provide more resources at the local level so we can reach our goal of 1 million new apprenticeships nationwide,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer. “Our exciting new partnerships with Alabama and Colorado will help build stronger pathways for our young people to enter Registered Apprenticeships and streamline the creation of new Registered Apprenticeships to meet businesses’ unique needs.”In Alabama, the state’s Commission on Higher Education will support the expansion of Registered Apprenticeships as a workforce training solution by making it easier to register new programs and reduce start-up costs. Key components of the cooperative agreement with Alabama include:Working with state apprenticeship agencies and the department’s Office of Apprenticeship to create a template for evaluating existing apprenticeship work processes and occupational frameworks.Developing a publicly available online tool to catalog, display, and distribute apprenticeship training outlines in an accessible, machine-readable format.Using an employer-demand driven approach to create national frameworks for occupations where no models exist, or where existing models do not meet employer needs.In Colorado, the state’s Department of Labor and Employment will develop tools and resources to expand pre-apprenticeships and ensure youth-serving apprenticeships are fully integrated with career and technical education and post-secondary education. Key components of the Colorado cooperative agreement include: Developing tools, frameworks, and resources to help expand pre-apprenticeships that lead to Registered Apprenticeships.Ensuring pre-apprenticeship and Registered Apprenticeship models align with career, technical education, and post-secondary education.Integrating Registered Apprenticeship into secondary and post-secondary pathways, expanding career exploration resources in schools, and addressing regulatory barriers for youth employment. Understanding specific models for Registered Apprenticeship opportunities for youth, analyzing available data for each, and conducting assessments that result in actionable templates for voluntary adoption by employers, educators, and training providers.