Federal

Apprenticeships to College Act

Source: Congress.gov · 1,038 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill directs the Secretary of Labor to work with the Secretary of Education to create a "Registered Apprenticeship College Consortium" within one year. This consortium brings together colleges, apprenticeship programs, employers and other organizations to connect apprenticeship training with college education. The goal is to help apprentices (people learning a trade through on-the-job training) earn college credit for their work and training.

Who It Affects

The Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Education are required to take action. The bill affects colleges and universities, apprenticeship sponsors (organizations that run apprenticeship programs), employers, and people participating in apprenticeship programs. Participation is optional for colleges and apprenticeship sponsors.

Key Provisions

- The Secretaries of Labor and Education must create an interagency agreement and submit it to Congress describing how they will coordinate apprenticeship programs with college education. (Sec. 2(a)) - The agreement must require consortium participants to create articulation agreements (contracts that allow students to transfer credits between programs) between colleges and apprenticeship sponsors. (Sec. 2(b)(3)(A)) - Consortium members must create or expand the ability to award college credit for apprenticeship-related instruction and training completed by program participants. (Sec. 2(b)(3)(B)) - The Secretaries must provide information to participants about available apprenticeship programs, financial resources, and help with developing new apprenticeship programs. (Sec. 2(b)(5)) - Information about the consortium, participating members, programs offered and available occupations must be made publicly available on a website. (Sec. 2(b)(6))

What Changes

If this law passes, the federal government will formally coordinate between Labor and Education departments to connect apprenticeship training with college coursework. Apprentices in participating programs will have clearer pathways to earn college credits. Colleges and apprenticeship programs will share information and create transfer agreements. A public website will list available apprenticeship programs and college partnerships.

Important Definitions

The bill defines the "Registered Apprenticeship College Consortium" as a group of colleges, instruction providers, apprenticeship sponsors, qualified intermediaries (organizations helping run programs), and employers working together to connect apprenticeships with college education.

Effective Date

The Secretary of Labor must complete the interagency agreement and submit it to Congress within one year of the law's enactment. Not specified in bill text when the actual effective date is.

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 343 To support the establishment of an apprenticeship college consortium. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 9, 2023 Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. MORAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To support the establishment of an apprenticeship college consortium. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Apprenticeships to Col- 4 lege Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. APPRENTICESHIP COLLEGE CONSORTIUM. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 7 date of enactment of this Act, in order to cooperate with 8 the Secretary of Education and promote awareness and 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:23 Feb 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S343.IS S343 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 343 IS adoption of apprenticeship programs, the Secretary of 1 Labor shall— 2 (1) enter into an interagency agreement with 3 the Secretary of Education to promote and support 4 integration and alignment of programs under the 5 national apprenticeship system with secondary, post- 6 secondary, and adult education, through the activi- 7 ties described in this section; and 8 (2) submit to the Committee on Education and 9 the Workforce of the House of Representatives and 10 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 11 Pensions of the Senate, such agreement and any 12 modifications to such agreement. 13 (b) APPRENTICESHIP COLLEGE CONSORTIUM.—In 14 order to support the establishment of a college consortium 15 of postsecondary educational institutions, related instruc- 16 tion providers, sponsors, qualified intermediaries, and em- 17 ployers (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Registered Appren- 18 ticeship College Consortium’’) for the purposes of pro- 19 moting stronger connections between programs under the 20 national apprenticeship system and participating 2- and 21 4-year postsecondary educational institutions, the inter- 22 agency agreement under subsection (a) shall include a de- 23 scription of how the Secretaries will— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:23 Feb 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S343.IS S343 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 343 IS (1) support data sharing systems that align 1 education records and records of programs under 2 the national apprenticeship system regarding wheth- 3 er program participants who receive financial aid 4 under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 5 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) enroll in, or complete, post- 6 secondary coursework while participating in a pro- 7 gram under such system; 8 (2) provide guidance on how to align eligible 9 funding from, planning processes for, and the re- 10 quirements of, the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech- 11 nical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et 12 seq.), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 13 et seq.), and the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 14 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) with this Act; 15 (3) require all participants of the Registered 16 Apprenticeship College Consortium to enter into 17 agreements to— 18 (A) have an articulation agreement with a 19 participating sponsor of an apprenticeship pro- 20 gram, which may include a 2- or 4-year postsec- 21 ondary educational institution; 22 (B) create or expand the awarding and ar- 23 ticulation of academic credit for related instruc- 24 tion completed and credentials awarded to pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:23 Feb 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S343.IS S343 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 343 IS gram participants as part of a program under 1 the national apprenticeship system; and 2 (C) support the creation or expansion of 3 electronic transcripts for apprenticeship pro- 4 grams and all academic content, including re- 5 lated instruction and on-the-job training; 6 (4) provide technical assistance on eligible uses 7 of financial aid, including the Federal work study 8 program under part C of title IV of the Higher Edu- 9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087–51 et seq.), for 10 related instruction for programs under the national 11 apprenticeship system; 12 (5) provide to Registered Apprenticeship Col- 13 lege Consortium participants or potential partici- 14 pants information regarding— 15 (A) a list of apprenticeship programs in re- 16 lated occupations offered in the State or avail- 17 able under the Office of Apprenticeship that 18 may become part of the Registered Apprentice- 19 ship College Consortium; 20 (B) information on how to develop an ap- 21 prenticeship program; 22 (C) information on Federal, State, and 23 local financial resources available to assist with 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:23 Feb 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S343.IS S343 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 343 IS the establishment and implementation of ap- 1 prenticeship programs; and 2 (D) information on related qualified inter- 3 mediaries or industry or sector partnerships 4 supporting apprenticeship programs, as applica- 5 ble; and 6 (6) support information regarding the Reg- 7 istered Apprenticeship College Consortium being 8 made available on a publicly accessible website, in- 9 cluding— 10 (A) a list of participating members of the 11 Registered Apprenticeship College Consortium, 12 apprenticeship programs provided, credentials 13 awarded with each program, and available 14 apprenticeable occupations; and 15 (B) models of articulation agreements, 16 prior learning assessments, and competency- 17 based curriculum for related instruction for il- 18 lustrative purposes. 19 (c) LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in this Act shall re- 20 quire— 21 (1) an institution of higher education to partici- 22 pate in the Registered Apprenticeship College Con- 23 sortium; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:23 Feb 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S343.IS S343 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 343 IS (2) an apprenticeship sponsor to participate in 1 the Registered Apprenticeship College Consortium. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:23 Feb 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S343.IS S343 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.