# Supporting Apprenticeship Colleges Act of 2021

This bill creates two federal grant programs designed to help colleges expand their construction and manufacturing apprenticeships. Think of it as the government investing money to make these career training programs bigger and more accessible to students who might not otherwise know about them.

The first program provides up to $500,000 grants to colleges so they can do better outreach and marketing for their construction and manufacturing apprenticeships. Colleges would use this money to visit high schools and talk to students, parents, and teachers about why apprenticeships are a good career path. They'd also reach out to local businesses to explain why hiring apprenticeship graduates makes sense for their companies. The bill specifically emphasizes reaching people in rural and suburban areas, and targeting groups that traditionally haven't had access to these programs—like first-generation college students, minorities, and nontraditional students.

The second program provides another $500,000 in grants to help colleges improve student support services for apprentices already enrolled in these programs. This includes hiring academic advisors to help students with career planning, offering mental health and substance abuse counseling, providing childcare support, and helping English language learners succeed. The goal is to keep more students in the program and help them graduate. Schools that receive these grants have to report back on how many students they helped and whether they're successfully getting more people from underrepresented groups into these programs.

Overall, the bill authorizes $5 million per year for five years (2021-2025) for each program. It's essentially a federal investment to grow the pipeline of skilled workers in construction and manufacturing by making these apprenticeships more visible and supportive, especially for students who might face barriers to accessing these opportunities.

Supporting Apprenticeship Colleges Act of 2021

Supporting Apprenticeship Colleges Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Education to award grants to institutions of higher education that sponsor construction and manufacturing-oriented registered apprenticeship programs for (1) expanding or supporting outreach to high schools, local businesses, and local workforce development boards; and (2) providing advising and support services to students who are enrolled in these apprenticeship programs.