Hearings to examine registered apprenticeship, focusing on scaling the workforce for the future.

Committee on Education

2025-11-05

Source: Congress.gov

Summary

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions held a hearing on the critical need to expand registered apprenticeships to address growing workforce shortages. Witnesses from the manufacturing, construction, and healthcare sectors detailed how apprenticeships provide skilled, well-paying jobs and bridge gaps in demand for technical workers. Key issues discussed include the impact of AI on automation, the role of state-level policy inconsistencies, and the urgent need for job stability in infrastructure projects. The panel emphasized that apprenticeship programs are effective when designed with employer input, offer competency-based training, and are tied to real-world job opportunities. Witnesses highlighted the importance of reducing bureaucratic barriers, increasing funding for pre-apprenticeship programs, and ensuring equitable access—particularly for underrepresented groups—through policies that support worker mobility and long-term career development.

Participants

Transcript

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Unknown (SPEAKER_10)

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will please come to order. The Republican down dais is returning from the White House, and so they'll be showing up shortly, but we will begin now. In the next 10 years, the U.S. is predicted to face a deficit of nearly 6 million workers. Americans are retiring at unprecedented rates And we don't have enough people to replace them. And I talked to my staff about this.

And I said, you know, on the one hand, we see AI replacing workers. And yet here we say we don't have enough people for the jobs. And I guess the way I understand it is that AI does not swing a hammer. And it is not in a craft. And there's some other things that we're going to try to address today that are a little bit, at this point, beyond the reach of AI. And so I think this is a very good, pertinent panel for the Health Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. In medicine, I'm a physician. I know firsthand that this shortage is impacting the health care sector. There's an aging population, except for this panel, except for us. And there's more patients to treat and fewer to treat them. So we need to modernize and expand the apprenticeship model, connecting workers with the skills needed for the future. Now, according to the Department of Labor, this is real money, apprentices earn a starting salary of $80,000 per year, well above the median individual income. Republicans and Democrats on this committee strongly support apprenticeships. It's bipartisan. Pro-worker, pro-business, pro-family. By the way, President Trump and Secretary Chavez de Rimmer understand the power of apprenticeship in strengthening our economy, empowering workers. And President Trump set out a bold vision, create one million new active apprenticeships, In August, the Departments of Education, Labor, and Commerce published a roadmap outlining how to accomplish this, and as the help chair, I am working closely with President Trump and his administration to expand apprenticeship opportunities. Now, American workers and employers want to participate in apprenticeships, but the current system, so workers and employers want to do this, But the current system is burdensome. There's inconsistent state laws which confuse workers and businesses alike. So if we're going to increase this number of apprenticeships, we must simplify the registration process, making it faster and easier for employers to offer.

The federal government, state government, and private industry should work together, come up with an innovative approach to scale apprenticeships beyond the trades to reach new industries like advanced technology. Now, employees and employers need more input into the design of apprenticeships, lowering the cost, increasing flexibility to choose the standards that work best. And they should be guided by those on the ground, not a government bureaucrat. By implementing common sense reforms, we can achieve President Trump's goal to strengthen the American economy and giving more Americans a path to the American dream. I thank our witness for being here. I look forward to discussing your ideas. Senator Sanders is not here. And so, Senator Baldwin or anyone else, are you subbing for him? I mean, if you... I'm sorry? What I'll do is introduce the witnesses. When Senator Sanders comes, we shall allow him to make his opening statement. Like... Okay. We're joined today by Josh Laney, Vice President of Apprenticeship and Work Embedded Learning at the Competency-Based Education Network, CBIN. Mr. Laney previously led the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship, where he expanded apprenticeship to fields like nursing and launched an interactive dashboard for prospective apprentices and to explore opportunities. I know Coach Tuberville is sorry that he's at the White House and not here because he would love to introduce a fellow War Eagle, but he's a graduate of Auburn University and Troy University. I look forward to hearing from you today, sir. Thank you for joining. Good morning. Thank you, Chair Cassidy, Ranking Member Sanders, when he arrives, and members of the committee.

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