Sec. Acosta appoints Gov. Reynolds to serve on apprenticeship task force

Statement

U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta appointed Governor Kim Reynolds Monday to serve on the President's Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion. The creation of this task force is a key step in implementing President Donald Trump's executive order, which was signed on June 15, 2017, with the intent to expand apprenticeships and vocational education, close the skills gap and reduce regulatory burdens on workforce development programs.

"Expanding apprenticeships will help Americans learn the skills they need to fill jobs that are open right now and in the future. I am pleased to see business leaders, unions, educational institutions and industry groups come together to help the American worker," Sec. Acosta said.

"I am honored to be appointed by Secretary Acosta to serve on the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion," Gov. Reynolds said. "Iowa has become a leader in promoting and expanding apprenticeships. As of today, we currently have 833 registered apprenticeship programs, including 125 new programs in 2017 alone, and 8,817 active registered apprentices. I look forward to working with this very accomplished group of individuals to continue to expand apprenticeship programs across Iowa and the rest of the country to make sure our future workforce is trained for the jobs of tomorrow."

The mission of the task force is to identify strategies and proposals to promote apprenticeships, especially in sectors where apprenticeship programs are insufficient.

Source