WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says apprenticeships could match workers with millions of open jobs, but he’s reluctant to devote more taxpayer money to the effort.
Instead, Trump and Labor Secretary Alex Acosta say the administration is focused on getting universities and private companies to pair up and pay the cost of such learn-to-earn arrangements.
The president, whose resume includes a long run on TV’s “The Apprentice,” has accepted a challenge from Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff to create 5 million apprenticeships over five years. Now, as part of a weeklong apprenticeship push, he is visiting Waukesha County Technical College in Wisconsin on Tuesday with his daughter, Ivanka, as well as Acosta and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
“Apprenticeships are going to be a big, big factor in our country,” Trump said during his first-ever full Cabinet meeting Monday. “There are millions of good jobs that lead to great careers, jobs that do not require a four-year degree or the massive debt that often comes with those four-year degrees and even two-year degrees.”