Staff from USDOL presented on Thursday January 25th. Read on for their insight into the NPRM and how to submit comments.

Moderated by John Ladd, Administrator of ETA, presenters from the United States Department of Labor provided a high-level summary of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), how the NPRM process works, and how to submit comments on the NPRM. With the Notice clocking in at 779 pages, DOL staff helped in highlighting key areas for stakeholders to provide input.

The event kicked off with welcomes from Amy Lloyd, Assistant Secretary U.S.Department of Education and from Brent Parton, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at ETA: “Apprenticeship works. It’s a proven pathway to high-paying good quality jobs.”

Parton highlighted the “system” part of the Notice, sharing that the intention is to, “bring that system up to speed for where we are today.” He noted that in recent years the system of registered apprenticeship has brought in new industries, new employers, labor partners, intermediaries and pathways, all helping to help system to thrive. “We wanted to look across the entire regulation as a whole and advance a comprehensive process,” said Parton.

Published January 17 in the Federal Register, the Notice has three central goals:

Ladd and other speakers from DOL answered the question of why take on this huge process now, pinpointing that apprenticeship is valuable in addressing workforce challenges, there is an opportunity to incorporate recent lessons learned by the department, and a recognition we must prepare for further apprenticeship momentum at the federal level because of recent historic investments like the CHIPS Act, IRA and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. 

In reviewing a disclaimers slide, administrators were clear that the webinar does not substitute for a review of the NPRM (nor does this article!). 

From there staff reviewed details on Subparts A, B and C, talking through program registration, Perkins CTE alignment and reporting requirements. These are the detailed, on-the-ground pieces of the NPRM that will need close reading from those doing the work in apprenticeship across the country. Think suitable occupations, registration, standards and trainer qualifications. Subpart B goes into detail on CTE Apprenticeship, what the department is calling “a new apprenticeship model for students.” 

As with the new model and the rest of the 779 pages, we at Aspect Works are reading, reviewing and preparing to submit comments. 

In closing ETA staff reiterated the foundations of the proposed rule: it builds off the strong existing system, off of stakeholder input, and off of research. 

The 61 day public comment period is open now. We are invited to submit comments by March 18, 2024. Log in to WorkforceGPS to see the presentation slides and watch a recording of the webinar, set to be posted in the coming days.