Research Brief
Semper Forward
Build the Apprenticeship, Win the Veteran
An employer can attach a federally funded, tax-free monthly payment to an open role at no cost to payroll. The Department of Veterans Affairs pays it directly to the apprentice, it comes to roughly $42,000 across a two-year apprenticeship at the national-average rate, and a competing employer can only match it out of their own pocket. Federal and state programs offset part of what it costs to train them, and expanding apprenticeship is current national policy with money behind it. Almost none of this is being claimed: by the Urban Institute's count, 1% of GI Bill education benefits go to apprenticeship and on-the-job training. This brief argues the constraint is the supply of approved programs, because clearing the two federal approvals means dealing with two different bodies with nearly the same name in every state where apprentices train. This brief covers the money, the obstacle, and what it takes to get on the right side of both.
