Registered Apprenticeship (RA) Industry Intermediaries-RFI 2023

The Department of Labor (the Department) Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA) Office of Apprenticeship (OA) proposes to award multiple contracts through two (2) Request for Proposals (RFPs) to Industry Intermediaries[1] to launch, promote, and expand multi-employer Registered Apprenticeship (RA) models that shall: 1) scale RA expansion opportunities in critical industries, including those that have not traditionally used apprenticeship to meet employer and sector needs; 2) expand RA in industries and occupations with existing experience but with further opportunities to scale by adopting proven models; 3) increase the percentage of RA opportunities for under-represented populations[2];  and 4) leverage existing RA stakeholder resources and promising practices to support the long-term sustainability of programs developed through this initiative after project completion.  These funds will support Industry Intermediary efforts to further RA expansion efforts in target industries across the United States.  Industry Intermediaries will also be critical in helping expand access and retention in RAs in both traditional, new, and emerging industries for all workers. 

Through this project, Industry Intermediaries will partner with the Department and other stakeholders.  Targeted partners and stakeholders broadly include (and may vary by industry sector): State Apprenticeship Agencies (SAA), the public workforce system, education system, K-12 Education, Licensure/Certification Entities, Related Technical Instruction (RTI) providers, Higher education institutions; employers; consortia of employers; industry associations; joint labor-management organizations, State and local educational institutions, and other stakeholders that commit to launch, promote, and expand RA programs to train a specified number of new apprentices, including incumbent workers and under-represented populations.

As referenced above, the Department intends to issue two Request for Proposals (RFPs) under this RFI.  The first RFP (i.e., Tier I) will target emerging RA industry sectors, such as education services that will be broadly defined and include teacher occupations (K-12, special education, etc.), Clean Energy (including, Climate Mitigation related occupations), and pathways for Early Childhood Education.  The Second RFP (i.e., Tier II) will target industries and occupations with existing RA, but with further opportunities to scale by adopting proven models, such as Hospitality Industry (to include Hotels, Lodging, Restaurants, & Tourism), Trucking Industry, and Cybersecurity Occupations.  The Department reserves the right to modify the industry sectors identified in the published RFPs.