Labor department partners with ATA on apprenticeship program

From Transport Topics.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor has partnered with American Trucking Associations for an apprenticeship program that could play a significant role in easing the industry’s driver shortage, and presents motor carriers with an opportunity to directly work with and train new entrants into their ranks.

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh was joined by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and ATA leadership at a March 1 signing ceremony at the department’s headquarters to formally establish ATA as an official registered apprenticeship sponsor.

The signing ceremony centered on a 90-day apprenticeship challenge launched by the Biden-Harris administration. The challenge is meant to recruit employers interested in developing Registered Apprenticeship programs, which are designed to provide paid, on-the-job training. Since the launch of the challenge in December, more than 300 employers, industry and workforce groups have joined, per the Labor Department.

With its official federal apprenticeship sponsor designation, ATA will work with FASTPORT, a Labor Department transportation and logistics intermediary, to administer the apprenticeship program for ATA member companies. Participating carriers will be required to meet certain training and compensation metrics as part of the two-year apprenticeships.

“We appreciate the American Trucking Associations joining the effort to expand Registered Apprenticeships to meet the needs of the nation’s employers while connecting workers to good-paying jobs and a path to middle-class wages and opportunities,” said Walsh. “What I love about Registered Apprenticeship is that it is a partnership. When employers and industry step up, we are ready to partner and support them to adopt this high-road training model to meet their critical workforce needs.”

See the complete article online at Transport Topics.