Trump II making Trump II's job harder on apprenticeship, Workforce Pell, and $3.7 billion in grants listings.
Plus, NABTU and OpenAI join forces on skilled trades training.
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Behind the paywall today.
The bad apprenticeship numbers we got this week and what they mean for Trump II’s approach to its big goal.
Trump II opens up apprenticeship programs to be a little shorter and better tailored.
A word to the wise for advocates on Workforce Pell implementation.
Hey.
There will be a special edition for paid subscribers tomorrow unpacking the warning shot Trump II sent to unions and others this week that could dramatically remake apprenticeship in the United States.
Nick Beadle Speaking Awareness Update.
Next Wednesday, I’ll be joining TPMA’s Sara Tracey and Bill McKinney for a free webinar about the state of Workforce Pell implementation. You can sign up here.
On March 25, I’ll be in Las Vegas at the convening of the National Association of Workforce Boards, where I’ll be hosting a workshop on AI and workforce program planning. You can learn more here.
Toplines.
Big things to keep an eye on if you work on getting people to work.
NABTU and OpenAI announce skilled trades push.
The North American Building Trades Union and OpenAI, the people behind ChatGPT and awkward conversations about feeding humans, have announced a partnership that, per a release, “supports union careers, strengthens union-registered apprenticeship programs, and creates economic opportunity in the communities where [AI-related] infrastructure is built.”
Per Axios, the partnership will commit $1.5 million over five years—or $300,000 per year—to NABTU’s training programs. OpenAI has been union-friendlier than most Silicon Valley concerns, partnering last year with the American Federation of Teachers. NABTU is as good of a training partner as you could have in the traditional trades.
Policymakers have been struggling to figure out what “AI apprenticeships” are. A good alternative has turned out to be “AI infrastructure” apprenticeships, which are typical trades jobs aimed at building out data centers and other physical needs for powering AI. It’s been a big part of recent DOL funding and Trump II policy documents on workforce and AI.
As with many things with OpenAI right now, there are questions about payoff. OpenAI has raised more than $170 billion from investors, so it’s really not contributing all that much capital to needed investments in trades education. That said, OpenAI also is facing questions about when its many expensive bets will pay off, with investors signaling they want to start seeing some return soon on AI investments that have kept the economy afloat. Plus, as with anything with AI, it’s worth asking how stable careers in AI infrastructure will be, with Nvidia already working on chips that may require less physical outlay for AI.
All that caveating aside, this is still cool and a nice surprise. Some Trump officials have opposed the notion that AI companies spend toward the workforce needs they’re creating, particularly in reference to a public-private fund proposed by Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. But if the labor market stays bad, that might change, and this might be a good starting point for future agreements.
America Forward and Ascendium fund effort to shift public workforce investment.
The nonpartisan policy group America Forward, through funding from Ascendium Education, is taking applications for eight workforce providers to join an initiative aimed at expanding evidence-based sectoral training programs and navigating the public workforce funding landscape.
The “Blazing a Trail Initiative” will support research, technical assistance, and policymaker education to expand the use of public funding toward sectoral training programs. “Sectoral training” is something I hear about a ton, but public funding hasn’t necessarily followed its popularity in workforce circles.
The program starts in June, and applications are due April 3. You can learn more here.
This week’s grant listings number: $3.7 billion.
New state and private announcements.