Washington, D.C. – November 14, 2023 – Today, North America’s Building Trades Unions President Sean McGarvey issued the following statement in recognition of National Apprenticeship Week 2023:

“As we celebrate the ninth annual National Apprenticeship Week, NABTU salutes the Department of Labor’s Registered Apprenticeship system that has delivered world class training across various industries for over 85 years.

“The construction industry operates more than two-thirds of Registered Apprenticeships and, thanks to a $2 billion annual investment from building trades unions and our partner contractors, we have developed the gold standard training model for construction workforce development. Every year, tens of thousands of the nation’s most highly-skilled construction workers complete our Registered Apprenticeship programs as they learn the skills needed for a middle class, family-sustaining career.

“Registered Apprenticeships are essential to growing a more sustainable and robust middle class in communities across America. With historic federal investments such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act, and CHIPS and Science Act, high-quality workforce training is essential now more than ever. Over the last several decades, countless lives have been changed by Registered Apprenticeship, and with these investments from the Biden Administration, that will only continue as we work to rebuild America and train the Infrastructure Generation.”

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