Virginia Works Secures $2.2 Million Federal Award to Expand Registered Apprenticeships Across the Commonwealth

RICHMOND, VA – Virginia Works today announced that the agency has been awarded a significant federal investment through the U.S. Department of Labor’s State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula Round 4 (SAEF4) grant. This award strengthens Virginia’s statewide Registered Apprenticeship (RA) system, expands opportunities for employers and workers, and supports Governor Spanberger’s vision of Virginia being the best place to work and live. With this grant, Virginia Works will help thousands more Virginians access high-quality training for good jobs available now. This award will help Virginia increase the number of Registered Apprentices in the Commonwealth fromover 15,000 today to approximately 18,400.

SAEF4 funding will drive accelerated growth across Virginia’s Registered Apprenticeship system in several critical areas:

Growing and supporting Virginia’s apprenticeship intermediaries:
Virginia Works will work to increase the number of active intermediaries by 50%,supporting organizations around employer engagement, program development, and regional expansion and aligned to the recently announced Apprenticeship Intermediary Network, which is launching this summer.

Targeting high-demand industries:
A portion of the federal award will be dedicated to a soon-to-launch new RAISE (Registered Apprenticeship Incentive for Sector Expansion) program. RAISE will competitively fund employers, apprenticeship intermediaries, and other organizations capable of supporting the development and expansion of Registered Apprenticeship programs to launch or expand programs in high-demand industries such as artificial intelligence and data infrastructure, nuclear energy, shipbuilding, advanced manufacturing, domestic mineral production, and information technology.

Bolstering family-sustaining career pathways and affordability:
Funding will also help support on-the-job training, related technical instruction (classroom), and supportive services like childcare, transportation, and classroom materials. This is consistent with Governor Spanberger’s commitment to make living in the Commonwealth more affordable by increasing access to career pathways that lead to family sustaining wages.

Improving public accountability and efficiency:
Virginia Works will upgrade its public-facing RA dashboard to report apprenticeship standardsapproval timelines and will work toward achieving an industry-aligned 30-day program approval commitment.

“We’re proud to put this investment to work in communities across the Commonwealth, opening career pathways, supporting workers and businesses, and driving growth in the high-demand industries central to Virginia’s long-term success,” said Virginia Secretary of Labor Jessica K. Looman. “Registered Apprenticeships are an integral component of Governor Spanberger’s vision of connecting more Virginians to good-paying careers while giving employers the skilled talent they need to grow – building an economy that works for everyone.”

“This award strengthens nearly every part of Virginia’s apprenticeship ecosystem at a moment when demand has never been higher. With stronger partnerships and targeted support for the Commonwealth’s most critical industries, we can turn that momentum into good-paying jobs and lasting opportunity for Virginians and their families. SAEF4 will help us grow registered apprenticeship, support more Virginia businesses, and keep the Commonwealth competitive as our economy evolves,” said Virginia Works Commissioner Nicole Overley.

Administered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration Office of Apprenticeship, the SAEF4 program supports states in expanding high-quality Registered Apprenticeship Programs, building system capacity, and meeting national workforce priorities.

Learn more about Registered Apprenticeship in Virginia at https://virginiaworks.gov/explore-registered-apprenticeship/.

Richmond is an independent city in the Richmond region.