Senator Hassan Responds to Trump Administration’s Proposal to Weaken Registered Apprenticeship Model, Highlights Successful Registered Apprenticeship Programs in New Hampshire

Click here to watch the Senator’s remarks.

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan, during a Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing today, responded to the Trump Administration’s efforts to weaken the quality of the Registered Apprenticeship model and highlighted the success of these programs in New Hampshire. She also discussed the importance of retaining and training direct care workers, who provide hands-on care for older adults and individuals who experience disabilities, through apprenticeship programs.

“As you know, we are facing a workforce shortage across the health care sector,” Senator Hassan said. “One of those shortages, in one of those sectors that is very personal to me, is the shortage of direct support professionals who provide care to our seniors and individuals who experience disabilities… At the beginning of this year, ApprenticeshipNH launched a pilot Home Health Aide Registered Apprenticeship with Senior Helpers in Stratham, New Hampshire in collaboration with Great Bay Community College.”

Senator Hassan asked Sandi Vito, Executive Director of a labor management organization that provides training for these kinds of registered apprenticeships, about how the Registered Apprenticeship model addresses workforce shortages, specifically for direct support professionals. Ms. Vito responded that apprenticeship programs, like Home Health Aides, can help with recruitment, improve caregiving, and increase worker retention.

Earlier this year, Senator Hassan visited Granite State Manufacturing in Manchester, which offers a Registered Apprenticeship program that trains employees to become machinists. The program offers apprentices credit for classes taken at Nashua Community College, allowing apprentices to receive an advanced degree and further their career opportunities. The Senator is also a co-sponsor of two bipartisan bills, the Jumpstart Our Businesses by Supporting Students (JOBS) Act and the Leveraging and Energizing America's Apprenticeship Programs (LEAP) Act, which would increase access to job training programs and encourage both employers and employees to take advantage of apprenticeship opportunities.

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