Mom, Dad, I Want to Be a Welder

For nearly 50 years, research has shown that having a bachelor’s degree or higher led to better employment prospects, from higher pay to greater job security. Now, with the stability of white-collar work in question as U.S. companies embrace artificial intelligence, federal data suggests that’s beginning to change.

DOL’s newest guidance aimed at easing administrative burdens for employers launching registered apprentice programs may not go far enough to achieve the administration’s lofty job creation goals.

Funding will support two new AI training tracks for current and future workers, train 40,000 manufacturing workers and expand the best-in-class FAME USA Network.

PowerAmerica — part of the Manufacturing USA network — has issued a new request for proposals to support research projects focused on wide-bandgap semiconductor materials (like silicon carbide and gallium nitride). This reflects growing investment in advanced manufacturing infrastructure and U.S. domestic semiconductor capacity.

The two projects, totally more than $35 million in funding, aim to strengthen the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) through additive manufacturing and advanced manufacturing technologies.