On June 15, 2017, President Trump signed the executive order expanding apprenticeship programs and vocational training. This executive order calls on the Secretary of Labor, Alexander Acosta, “to propose regulations that promote the development of apprenticeship programs by industry and trade groups, nonprofit organizations, unions, and joint labor-management organizations,” according to a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). It also directs the departments of commerce and labor to “promote apprenticeships to business leaders in critical industry sectors, including manufacturing, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and health care.”

The National Apprentice Act, published by Congress in 1937 and signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, saw that a national advisory committee would be in charge of researching and drafting regulations, establishing minimum standards for apprenticeship programs.