ILMA Compoundings February 2018 - 31

WASHINGTON LANDSCAPE

Apprenticeship Changes
on the Horizon
By Daniel Bryant

M

any ILMA members have commented about the difficulties
their companies encounter hiring qualified candidates. There appears
to be a significant disparity between the
number of jobs and the number of competent, trained individuals to fill those
jobs. This skills problem is not limited to
the lubricants industry.
Thankfully, President Donald
Trump signed executive order (EO)
13801 last June to expand apprenticeship programs in the U.S. to hopefully
yield a large talent pool for a variety
of industry sectors and businesses,
including for ILMA members.
The EO instructs the Department of
Labor (DOL) to propose regulations
that allow the development of apprenticeship programs by third parties,
such as trade associations, unions or
businesses, which would be approved
and certified by the government.
The Trump administration believes
that hands-on learning best prepares
Americans for in-demand jobs.
Apprenticeships combine on-the-job
training and classroom education, and
the participants can earn money as
they progress through the program.
The EO notes that too many individuals are pursuing undergraduate
degrees at considerable expense and
time but are not adequately trained
and equipped with the skills necessary for today's jobs upon graduating,
stating that "federal programs must
do a better job matching unemployed
American workers with open jobs,
including the 350,000 manufacturing
jobs currently available."
Some observers believe a reason for
the "supply and demand" imbalance,
particularly in the manufacturing

sector, is that too many job seekers,
including college graduates, are leaving
school without marketable skills or
practical work experience.
Updating apprenticeship programs
is vital for numerous companies and is
economically beneficial for apprenticeship candidates. Data compiled by the
National Association of Manufacturers
(NAM) shows that in 2016, the average manufacturing worker made in
excess of $82,000, which is significantly higher than the average salary across
the economy of $64,609.
Under existing apprenticeship rules,
DOL directs how programs are administered, the length of hands-on training
and the minimum number of required
hours of classroom instruction.
As part of the order, DOL was
directed to assemble a task force under
the Federal Advisory Committee
Act to determine strategies and
opportunities to promote and expand
apprenticeship programs at high
schools, community colleges and fouryear universities.
Last November, Labor Secretary
Alexander Acosta hosted the first
meeting of the task force, which
he chairs, along with Vice Chairs
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
Twenty representatives from the private sector, trade associations, unions
and state government compose the
rest of the task force, including U.S.
Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom
Donohue, NAM CEO Jay Timmons,
Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris,
United Brotherhood of Carpenters
and Joiners of America President
Douglas McCarron and Iowa Gov.
Kim Reynolds.

The task force discussed a proposed
set of apprenticeship reforms, looking at federal initiatives to highlight
apprenticeships, potential administrative and legislative reforms that would
make programs more successful and
potential strategies for prompting the
private sector to craft and promote its
own programs.
"The [current] registered apprenticeship program that already exists does
not work," Acosta said at the meeting.
Several attendees also expressed frustration with messaging, as many Americans
do not view apprenticeships as what they
are - a path toward a financially stable,
rewarding career. Acosta concluded the
two-hour meeting by noting, "President
Trump is very anxious ... He does not
want this to take years. He wants this to
take weeks."
As this article goes to print, the
DOL task force has not released its
recommendations; however, ILMA
will have an opportunity to weigh in
on any proposals during DOL's public
comment period.
Further, as the DOL finalizes its
apprenticeship regulations, there will
likely be an opportunity for ILMA
to devise a program itself. This will
be largely contingent upon what the
final rules look like, but there should
be an opportunity for the membership to work together to craft a
program that equips individuals with
essential skills while simultaneously
creating a productive work force for
member businesses.
Bryant serves as regulatory
counsel to ILMA through
Bassman, Mitchell, Alfano &
Leiter Chtd. He may be
reached at 202-386-7670 or dbryant@bmalaw.net.

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ILMA Compoundings February 2018

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