Legislative Update - Summer 2024

SMACNA Supports Modernization of National Registered Apprenticeship Standards 

SMACNA Greater Chicago is proud to be one of the premier sheet metal associations in the country, and our contractor members continue to set the standard in safety, quality and productivity. But the future of our workforce relies on the apprenticeship training programs offered by our labor union counterparts at Local 73 and Local 265. 

Recently, the Department of Labor has brought Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) to the forefront by leading efforts to modernize apprenticeship standards and alleviate the shortage of highly skilled workers. Although the draft proposal needs some work, SMACNA National has given their stamp of approval on this collaborative effort, and believes the revamped standards could bring about the following improvements:

• Strengthening of labor standards, quality and worker protections by making occupational skills and training more portable, enhancing alignment with postsecondary education and providing better performance data. 

• Defining clearer roles for State Apprenticeship Agencies and other stakeholders within the NationalApprenticeship System. 

• Codifying the Office of Apprenticeship’s role for national leadership, promotion and standards. 

• Promoting apprenticeship pathways, including pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship readiness programs, by expanding performance and data requirements to improve accountability, transparency and program outcomes. 

• Creating a student-centric model of Registered Apprenticeship, called Registered Career and Technical Education Apprenticeship, designed to make it more seamless for full-time high school and community college students to enroll in a Registered Apprenticeship.

“Collectively, the changes would ensure that apprentices receive broad-based, quality training that would provide them with marketable skills for their entire careers and further the DOL’s goals of ‘rebuilding the middle class’ and ‘connecting a diverse workforce to family-sustaining jobs,’” said Stan Kolbe, SMACNA’s Executive Director of Government and Political Affairs. 

For more details, and further improvements to the proposed rule offered by SMACNA leaders, visit bit.ly/45aONTz