President Trump signed an executive order Thursday his administration hopes will help fill a “skills gap” by encouraging companies to invest in apprenticeship programs for workers.
“I’ll be signing an executive order to expand apprenticeships and vocational training to help all Americans find a rewarding career, earn a great living and support themselves and their families and love going to work in the morning,” Trump said during a White House announcement. “We will be removing federal restrictions that have prevented many different industries from creating apprenticeship programs.”
It wasn’t immediately clear which restrictions Trump is looking to remove.
The order comes during the White House’s “workforce development week,” which Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and senior adviser, is promoting. A White House official said the effort is needed because CEOs and business leaders have complained of a “skills gap,” where businesses struggle to fill jobs with skilled workers, which limits investments and growth.
“We are empowering these companies, these unions, industry groups, federal agencies to go out and create new apprenticeships for millions of our citizens,” Trump said. “Apprenticeships place students into great jobs without the crippling debt of traditional four-year college degrees.”
“Instead apprentices earn while they learn, which is an expression we are using,” Trump added. “Earn while you learn.”
A senior White House official said Trump will call on American businesses to increase apprenticeship programs. The federal government will also analyze its existing workforce programs.
“This executive order is all about providing new pathways that will create new apprenticeships,” an official said Thursday.
The White House official said the president also plans to make a “strategic investment with available funds to promote apprenticeships in new sectors.”
“This is not in any way a negative comment on a traditional four-year university education,” the official said. “What this is about is choice, that there shouldn’t be a one size fits all answer for education for the American worker. That there should be multiple pathways for workers to decide what is the best answer for them.”
A trade group for the restaurant industry expressed support. “We are excited about working with the administration to help create more job and career opportunities in the restaurant, foodservice and hospitality industry through apprenticeship,” said Rob Gifford, the executive vice president of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. “The foundation has already begun working with the industry to develop and implement an apprenticeship program that provides the skills and training needed for career advancement across multiple management positions.”
The president’s speech was originally planned for Wednesday, but was postponed after the shooting at the congressional baseball game practice.
“Today’s apprentices will construct the roads and bridges that move our citizens,” Trump said. “They will bend the metal and steel that shape our cities and they will pioneer the new technology that drives our commerce. As we train the next generation of Americans to do their jobs, all of us here today have to do our jobs. We have to join forces, join hands, and join together to restore the American dream for all of our people.”
