[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 117 (Tuesday, June 20, 2017)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 28229-28232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13012]
[[Page 28227]]
Vol. 82
Tuesday,
No. 117
June 20, 2017
Part II
The President
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Executive Order 13801--Expanding Apprenticeships in America
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 82 , No. 117 / Tuesday, June 20, 2017 /
Presidential Documents
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Title 3--
The President
[[Page 28229]]
Executive Order 13801 of June 15, 2017
Expanding Apprenticeships in America
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, and to promote affordable education and
rewarding jobs for American workers, it is hereby
ordered as follows:
Section 1. Purpose. America's education systems and
workforce development programs are in need of reform.
In today's rapidly changing economy, it is more
important than ever to prepare workers to fill both
existing and newly created jobs and to prepare workers
for the jobs of the future. Higher education, however,
is becoming increasingly unaffordable. Furthermore,
many colleges and universities fail to help students
graduate with the skills necessary to secure high-
paying jobs in today's workforce. Far too many
individuals today find themselves with crushing student
debt and no direct connection to jobs.
Against this background, federally funded education and
workforce development programs are not effectively
serving American workers. Despite the billions of
taxpayer dollars invested in these programs each year,
many Americans are struggling to find full-time work.
These Federal programs must do a better job matching
unemployed American workers with open jobs, including
the 350,000 manufacturing jobs currently available.
Expanding apprenticeships and reforming ineffective
education and workforce development programs will help
address these issues, enabling more Americans to obtain
relevant skills and high-paying jobs. Apprenticeships
provide paid, relevant workplace experiences and
opportunities to develop skills that employers value.
Additionally, they provide affordable paths to good
jobs and, ultimately, careers.
Finally, federally funded education and workforce
development programs that do not work must be improved
or eliminated so that taxpayer dollars can be channeled
to more effective uses.
Sec. 2. Policy. It shall be the policy of the Federal
Government to provide more affordable pathways to
secure, high-paying jobs by promoting apprenticeships
and effective workforce development programs, while
easing the regulatory burden on such programs and
reducing or eliminating taxpayer support for
ineffective workforce development programs.
Sec. 3. Definitions. For purposes of this order:
(a) the term ``apprenticeship'' means an
arrangement that includes a paid-work component and an
educational or instructional component, wherein an
individual obtains workplace-relevant knowledge and
skills; and
(b) the term ``job training programs'' means
Federal programs designed to promote skills development
or workplace readiness and increase the earnings or
employability of workers, but does not include Federal
student aid or student loan programs.
Sec. 4. Establishing Industry-Recognized
Apprenticeships. (a) The Secretary of Labor
(Secretary), in consultation with the Secretaries of
Education and Commerce, shall consider proposing
regulations, consistent with applicable law, including
29 U.S.C. 50, that promote the development of
apprenticeship programs by third parties. These third
parties may include trade and industry groups,
companies, non-profit organizations, unions, and joint
labor-management organizations. To the extent permitted
by law and supported by sound
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policy, any such proposed regulations shall reflect an
assessment of whether to:
(i) determine how qualified third parties may provide recognition to high-
quality apprenticeship programs (industry-recognized apprenticeship
programs);
(ii) establish guidelines or requirements that qualified third parties
should or must follow to ensure that apprenticeship programs they recognize
meet quality standards;
(iii) provide that any industry-recognized apprenticeship program may be
considered for expedited and streamlined registration under the registered
apprenticeship program the Department of Labor administers;
(iv) retain the existing processes for registering apprenticeship programs
for employers who continue using this system; and
(v) establish review processes, consistent with applicable law, for
considering whether to:
(A) deny the expedited and streamlined registration under the Department
of Labor's registered apprenticeship program, referred to in subsection
(a)(iii) of this section, in any sector in which Department of Labor
registered apprenticeship programs are already effective and substantially
widespread; and
(B) terminate the registration of an industry-recognized apprenticeship
program recognized by a qualified third party, as appropriate.
(b) The Secretary shall consider and evaluate
public comments on any regulations proposed under
subsection (a) of this section before issuing any final
regulations.
Sec. 5. Funding to Promote Apprenticeships. Subject to
available appropriations and consistent with applicable
law, including 29 U.S.C. 3224a, the Secretary shall use
available funding to promote apprenticeships, focusing
in particular on expanding access to and participation
in apprenticeships among students at accredited
secondary and post-secondary educational institutions,
including community colleges; expanding the number of
apprenticeships in sectors that do not currently have
sufficient apprenticeship opportunities; and expanding
youth participation in apprenticeships.
Sec. 6. Expanding Access to Apprenticeships. The
Secretaries of Defense, Labor, and Education, and the
Attorney General, shall, in consultation with each
other and consistent with applicable law, promote
apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships for America's
high school students and Job Corps participants, for
persons currently or formerly incarcerated, for persons
not currently attending high school or an accredited
post-secondary educational institution, and for members
of America's armed services and veterans. The
Secretaries of Commerce and Labor shall promote
apprenticeships to business leaders across critical
industry sectors, including manufacturing,
infrastructure, cybersecurity, and health care.
Sec. 7. Promoting Apprenticeship Programs at Colleges
and Universities. The Secretary of Education shall,
consistent with applicable law, support the efforts of
community colleges and 2-year and 4-year institutions
of higher education to incorporate apprenticeship
programs into their courses of study.
Sec. 8. Establishment of the Task Force on
Apprenticeship Expansion. (a) The Secretary shall
establish in the Department of Labor a Task Force on
Apprenticeship Expansion.
(b) The mission of the Task Force shall be to
identify strategies and proposals to promote
apprenticeships, especially in sectors where
apprenticeship programs are insufficient. The Task
Force shall submit to the President a report on these
strategies and proposals, including:
(i) Federal initiatives to promote apprenticeships;
(ii) administrative and legislative reforms that would facilitate the
formation and success of apprenticeship programs;
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(iii) the most effective strategies for creating industry-recognized
apprenticeships; and
(iv) the most effective strategies for amplifying and encouraging private-
sector initiatives to promote apprenticeships.
(c) The Department of Labor shall provide
administrative support and funding for the Task Force,
to the extent permitted by law and subject to
availability of appropriations.
(d) The Secretary shall serve as Chair of the Task
Force. The Secretaries of Education and Commerce shall
serve as Vice-Chairs of the Task Force. The Secretary
shall appoint the other members of the Task Force,
which shall consist of no more than twenty individuals
who work for or represent the perspectives of American
companies, trade or industry groups, educational
institutions, and labor unions, and such other persons
as the Secretary may from time to time designate.
(e) Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act,
as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), may apply to the Task
Force, any functions of the President under that Act,
except for those of reporting to the Congress, shall be
performed by the Chair, in accordance with guidelines
issued by the Administrator of General Services.
(f) Members of the Task Force shall serve without
additional compensation for their work on the Task
Force, but shall be allowed travel expenses, including
per diem in lieu of subsistence, to the extent
permitted by law for persons serving intermittently in
the Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707), consistent
with the availability of funds.
(g) A member of the Task Force may designate a
senior member of his or her organization to attend any
Task Force meeting.
(h) The Task Force shall terminate 30 days after it
submits its report to the President.
Sec. 9. Excellence in Apprenticeships. Not later than 2
years after the date of this order, the Secretary
shall, consistent with applicable law, and in
consultation with the Secretaries of Education and
Commerce, establish an Excellence in Apprenticeship
Program to solicit voluntary information for purposes
of recognizing, by means of a commendation, efforts by
employers, trade or industry associations, unions, or
joint labor-management organizations to implement
apprenticeship programs.
Sec. 10. Improving the Effectiveness of Workforce
Development Programs. (a) Concurrent with its budget
submission to the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB), the head of each agency shall submit
a list of programs, if any, administered by their
agency that are designed to promote skills development
and workplace readiness. For such programs, agencies
shall provide information on:
(i) evaluations of any relevant data pertaining to their effectiveness
(including their employment outcomes);
(ii) recommendations for administrative and legislative reforms that would
improve their outcomes and effectiveness for American workers and
employers; and
(iii) recommendations to eliminate those programs that are ineffective,
redundant, or unnecessary.
(b) The Director of OMB shall consider the
information provided by agencies in subsection (a) of
this section in developing the President's Fiscal Year
2019 Budget.
(c) The head of each agency administering one or
more job training programs shall order, subject to
available appropriations and consistent with applicable
law, an empirically rigorous evaluation of the
effectiveness of such programs, unless such an analysis
has been recently conducted. When feasible, these
evaluations shall be conducted by third-party
evaluators using the most rigorous methods appropriate
and feasible for the program, with preference given to
multi-site randomized controlled trials.
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(d) The Director of OMB shall provide guidance to
agencies on how to fulfill their obligations under this
section.
Sec. 11. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary,
administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
June 15, 2017.
[FR Doc. 2017-13012
Filed 6-19-17; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F7-P