Much like President Biden running on the platform of "not being Trump," it seems the goal of this Administration is to undo anything former President Trump enacted - even to the detriment of Americans.

In 2017, then President Donald J Trump signed the Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPS). This executive order allowed "trade and industry groups, companies, non-profit organizations, unions, and joint labor-management organizations to create their own apprenticeship programs." This EO was geared to support workers in obtaining the skills that universities fail to provide.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order this week revoking the IRAPS order which provided federal funding for these apprenticeship programs which would be created and developed within each industry. Biden, has decided that these industry controlled programs should be replaced with more government controlled programs.

The Plan that was Left Behind

The Washington Post, media foe of President Donald Trump reported:

“Registered Apprenticeships,” approved by the government, have been part of U.S. labor policy for decades. Under the Obama administration, these received more funding. But critics argued that the government-controlled model, run by the Department of Labor and with the involvement of labor unions, held back the growth of apprenticeships.

The Trump order allowed industries (and unions) to develop their own programs, within regulations but independent of government control. Under Trump, there was bipartisan support.

Trump sought to reorient and expand Apprenticeship USA. The grant program, previously championed by the Obama administration, was supported by Democrats and Republicans alike.

The administration’s aim, White House officials say, is to give more flexibility to third parties — including businesses, trade associations and labor unions — to design programs that will offer skills training to those who are seeking jobs for which they are not yet qualified.

Under current rules, the Labor Department is too heavy-handed in crafting the programs, they argue.

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), the Ranking Member on the House Committee on Education and Labor, objected to Biden’s change in a statement:

“President Biden’s move to end IRAPs will kill jobs. Period. Doubling down on an inefficient, 80-year-old system that is unresponsive to workers’ needs is not a solution, it is irresponsible.

“In the last four months 131 IRAPs have been created, the vast majority of which are for nursing credentials. Why a party that claims to follow science would limit nursing credentials during a global pandemic is beyond me.

“Instead of catering to union bosses and increasing Washington’s overreach into the private sector, we should support and encourage efforts to cut the regulatory red tape that stops too many employers from filling in-demand jobs. Employer-led apprenticeship programs account for more than 80 percent of all apprenticeship programs nationwide. The success of these programs should come as no surprise, employers know best what skills their employees need to excel in the workplace. The Biden White House described his new policy as “expanding registered apprenticeship programs,” with a view to training “diverse, local, well-trained workers who have a choice to join a union.”

The White House claimed that industry-run apprenticeships “have fewer quality standards than registered apprenticeship programs” and that they “fail to require the wage progression” that occurs under union-backed, government-run programs.