[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 181 (Wednesday, November 13, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1431]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS IN COLORADO

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                            HON. JASON CROW

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 13, 2019

  Mr. CROW. Madam Speaker, in honor of National Apprenticeship Week, I 
rise today to recognize the importance of Registered Apprenticeship 
Programs.
   Since 1937, the Department of Labor's Registered Apprenticeship 
Program has been a model for recruiting and developing well-trained 
workers in highly-skilled occupations. Registered Apprenticeship 
Programs play a vital role in setting robust training, pay, and safety 
standards that are nationally recognized and credentialed.
   Programs that are given the registered apprenticeship designation 
are subject to stringent requirements that mandate progressive wage 
increases, quality assurance assessments by the government, 
comprehensive safety training, and workplace rights protections. These 
standards and protections also include important equal opportunity 
measures and equity outcomes such as requiring targeted outreach to 
previously underserved populations for recruitment into apprenticeship 
programs, diversifying the workforce and providing rewarding career 
opportunities for women, veterans, and people of color.
   Furthermore, I'd like to take a moment to highlight the Colorado 
Building and Construction Trades Council, comprised of 24 craft local 
unions who belong to 14 national and international unions. These local 
unions make represent 30,000 skilled working men and women in the 
Colorado. The Building Trades Union has, and continues to, exemplify 
the gold standard of the Registered Apprenticeship system. Building 
Trades Registered Apprenticeship programs represent over two thirds of 
all the registered apprenticeships in the U.S. and, together with its 
contractor partners, invest over $1.5 billion annually in a nationwide 
network of over 1,600 training centers.
   The Building Trades' Apprenticeship Programs are proven alternatives 
to a four-year college degree and provide apprentices with 
opportunities to learn portable skills and receive a debt-free 
education while earning livable wages. I congratulate the Colorado 
Building and Construction Trades Council on their success and implore 
my colleagues to join me in protecting and expanding upon the DOL's 
Registered Apprenticeship Program.

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