Trump signs executive order backing apprenticeships over degrees
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The news: US President Donald Trump has signed an order to improve job training for skilled trades, an initiative matched with tariffs in his gambit to revive US manufacturing, Reuters has reported.
The numbers: The US Labor, Education and Commerce departments will focus on job needs in emerging industries including those enabled by artificial intelligence, with a goal to support more than 1 million apprenticeships per year, the report said citing a White House summary of the order.
The context: The new executive order seems aimed at tilting US government agencies away from overwhelming support for the professional jobs that colleges and universities prepare workers for, and toward backing skilled trades, like electricians, machinists and nursing assistants, Reuters noted.
It was not clear how much funding would be allocated to the plan, but the goal was to redirect "funds away from ineffective programs," the report said citing a person familiar with the plans.
Trump has promoted levies on imports as a solution for a wide range of ills including a decades-long decline in US factory jobs. Tariffs could steer more US customers to American-made goods but any hoped-for US factory renaissance faces several obstacles, including a shortage of skilled workers.
The source: Reuters
