Washington, DC – September 1, 2022 – Today, North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) issued the following statement from President Sean McGarvey on being named an Apprenticeship Ambassador by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the launch of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative:

“North America’s Building Trades Unions applaud the Biden-Harris Administration, Secretary Walsh and the Department of Labor for prioritizing Registered Apprenticeship, the highest level of training for building the next generation of high-quality infrastructure in communities across America. As part of this Apprenticeship Ambassador program, NABTU has committed to training 250,000 new apprentices with portable skills that will lead to rewarding middle class careers in the construction industry.

“Our members are the most highly-skilled workers in the industry as a direct result of investing in apprenticeship education and training for over 100 years. We annually invest almost $2 billion and fund over 1,600 U.S. teaching centers through the Registered Apprenticeship system, so we know this model works and support efforts to expand our proven model to other industries. We also know that strengthening pathways into this gold-standard system begins with expanding access to apprenticeship readiness programs. The impact of these programs are life-changing; they help boost secure, middle class career pathways and ensure workers of all backgrounds – especially communities of color, women, immigrants, veterans, and the justice involved – are trained to meet the demands of America’s most competitive industries.

“Workforce development is our core mission, and we welcome the opportunity to share our best practices. We look forward to continued engagement on this initiative as we keep doing all we can to elevate diversity in and access to the most proven and widely recognized workforce development model in the world.”

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