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America Forward applauds the U.S. Department of Labor’s announcement of a new $145 million pay-for-performance apprenticeship incentives initiative. This initiative constitutes a significant investment aimed at expanding Registered Apprenticeship nationwide and paves the way for a more outcomes-oriented, formula-based approach to financing apprenticeships.

Key provisions in the recently-released application materials closely align with America Forward and Apprenticeships for America’s recommendations on pay-for-success apprenticeship pilots, including:

• Flexibility for sponsors. At least 85 percent of each award must go to apprenticeship sponsors, affording significant flexibility for sponsors to set up programs and to structure payments and partnerships with employers.
• Rewarding growth, not just subsidizing existing programs. DOL’s incentive structure emphasizes expanding apprenticeship participation by establishing a “substantial growth threshold” for payments. This design should help ensure federal funds drive new apprenticeship opportunities rather than simply subsidizing existing programs.
• Encouraging completion and retention. The application envisions design payment structures that reward apprentice progression and completion, not just initial enrollment. The selection criteria allocate points specifically for demonstrating how incentive models will motivate sponsors to support retention throughout the program—an important step toward prioritizing quality outcomes alongside participation growth.
• Emphasis on evidence and data. The initiative supports an evidence-based approach to incentive design, with selection criteria rewarding logic-based justifications for payment structures. DOL explicitly clarifies that program funds can be used for data and evaluation activities, while selection criteria emphasize accurate recordkeeping and reporting, a critical component given past challenges in tracking apprenticeship outcomes.
• Broad sectoral reach. The initiative will support apprenticeship expansion focused on sector-specific approaches across priority industries such as AI, semiconductors, healthcare, transportation, telecommunications, and shipbuilding and defense, while also dedicating one award to scaling apprenticeships across all other industries.

Moving forward, America Forward encourages DOL to incorporate a rigorous evaluation to identify the initiative’s impacts and the most effective financing strategies, alongside high-quality technical assistance to ensure successful implementation. We also support piloting outcome measures that reward longer-term earnings and employment outcomes post-completion, as well as investing in high-quality pre-apprenticeship programs that lead to apprenticeships in order to grow the pipeline for successful apprenticeships.

We look forward to supporting the many America Forward Coalition members interested in participating in this initiative, and in building on the outcomes-based, evidence-focused approaches this initiative will create.