The effort will allow Job Corps campuses throughout the nation to emphasize pre-apprenticeship programs in green energy, health care, information technology and other high-growth industry sectors. 

“Pre-apprenticeship programs prepare students with a set of skills and strategies needed to enter and succeed in a Registered Apprenticeship program or industry-relevant job,” explained Job Corps National Director Rachel Torres. “Through this initiative, Job Corps students will spend approximately one year in a pre-apprenticeship program. With the general education, enhanced social skills and hands-on job training they receive, these students will have more career pathways from which to choose.” 

Currently, Job Corps offers more than 300 pre-apprenticeship programs in construction, advanced manufacturing, renewable resources and energy, transportation, and automotive and machine repair industries. 

The initiative announced today aligns with the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to expand Registered Apprenticeship to build equitable pathways to the middle class and connect a diverse workforce to family-supporting, living-wage jobs
As the nation marks National Apprenticeship Week, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced an initiative to expand its pre-apprenticeship opportunities for Job Corps students and connect them to Registered Apprenticeship programs.