Press Releases

This week Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) introduced the Pre-apprenticeship Promotion Act. The bill would help strengthen the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program by ensuring pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships are considered in the training process. The bill aims to make HPOG more responsive to local workforce needs, while opening additional health care industry opportunities for underserved communities. 

“With so many Americans still struggling to make ends meet and so many health care jobs vacant, my bill would help connect those who want these jobs with workforce training they need to get them,” said Beyer. “I look forward to taking up the Pre-apprenticeship Promotion Act in the Ways and Means Committee and I urge my colleagues to support it.”

HPOG is a grant program established under the Affordable Care Act. It provides education and training to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families recipients, veterans, and people with disabilities in the health care sector, giving access to high-paying, high-demand careers. It also helps health care employers in finding trained and qualified staff to provide the care that patients need.

Apprenticeships are proven methods in preparing workers to enter high-skill industries, but barriers to entry for those programs remain. This bill aims to ensure quality pre-apprenticeships exist to help prepare diverse and skilled workers for apprenticeships, and ultimately, stable middle-class career.