Reps. Fitzpatrick, Khanna introduce bill to provide apprenticeship opportunities for students

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) introduced on Feb. 25 the Student Apprenticeship Act, which aims to provide apprenticeship opportunities for students.

The bill is a companion to Sen. Michael Bennet’s (D-CO) Student Apprenticeship Act.

“Apprenticeship programs grow our economy by fostering training programs that will prepare workers for in-demand careers,” Fitzpatrick said. “There has been a consistent increase in the number of jobs, but employers are struggling to find skilled workers. By promoting the collaboration between higher education and apprentice programs, this bill will help to prepare the next generation for good-paying jobs, while addressing our nation’s current shortage of trained workers.”

The Student Apprenticeship Act would create a grant program that promotes collaboration between institutions of higher education, employers, and workforce intermediaries to create apprenticeship opportunities for students. Participants would be both students and apprentices and would work to earn college credit and an industry credential while their employers pay them. Employers would pay at least 25 percent of the student’s college tuition and fees.

The bill would also establish competitive grants that would provide institutions of higher education, employers, and workforce intermediaries with funds to offset costs associated with developing and implementing student-apprenticeships.

The bill would also update the federal work-study program to allow apprenticeship programs to qualify as work-study programs, which enable eligible students who demonstrate financial need to earn money to pay tuition through work related to their coursework and intended career path.

“To prepare our workers for the 21st-century economy, we must acknowledge that on-the-job training and higher education go hand in hand,” Rep. Khanna said. “Student apprenticeship programs are key to ensuring workers are trained for the high-paying, high-demand jobs that employers are having so much trouble filling. We must invest in our workforce if we want to maintain America’s global economic leadership.”