# Veterans' Entry to Apprenticeship Act

This bill makes it easier for veterans to use their educational benefits to attend pre-apprenticeship programs. Right now, veterans can use their GI Bill and other VA educational assistance to attend apprenticeships, but pre-apprenticeship programs—which are training courses designed to prepare people to enter formal apprenticeships—aren't clearly covered. This bill fixes that gap by officially allowing veterans to use their benefits for these preparatory programs.

Here's what this means in practical terms: A veteran who wants to become an electrician, plumber, or enter another skilled trade could use their educational benefits to take a pre-apprenticeship course that teaches foundational skills and gets them ready for a registered apprenticeship program. Without this bill, they might have had to pay out of pocket for this preparation work. The bill ensures they get the same financial support for pre-apprenticeship training as they would for the actual apprenticeship itself. If the veteran isn't being paid during the pre-apprenticeship program, they'll also receive a monthly housing allowance based on military housing rates for an E-5 rank member with dependents.

The bill requires that pre-apprenticeship programs meet certain standards to qualify. In states that have official standards for these programs, they just need to follow those. In states without specific standards, the program needs to be approved by a sponsor (like a registered apprenticeship program, a college, or a government agency) and must have clear policies about conduct and attendance. The amount of educational benefits veterans use for pre-apprenticeship counts the same as if they were using it for a full apprenticeship, so it draws down their total available benefits at the same rate.

Veterans’ Entry to Apprenticeship Act

Budd, Ted

Veterans' Entry to Apprenticeship Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide the same amount and type of educational assistance to pre-apprenticeship programs as apprenticeship programs in certain circumstances. A pre-apprenticeship program is designed to prepare individuals to enter an apprenticeship program via education and training. Under the bill, a pre-apprenticeship program may be treated like an apprenticeship program for purposes of educational assistance if the program complies with state standards or meets other accepted criteria if state standards do not apply. If individuals are not paid as part of a pre-apprenticeship program, they are eligible for a specified amount of housing assistance.