On April 14, the Department of Education and the Department of Labor released their inaugural equity action plans, which are designed to support marginalized, vulnerable and underserved communities. The equity action plans are in response to one of President Biden's Executive Orders and part of a broader effort by the Biden Administration across dozens of federal agencies to address systemic barriers for historically underserved communities.
Specific to workforce development, the Department of Labor plans to focus on:
- developing government apprenticeships to provide pathways to federal service
- collaborating with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBUs), other educational institutions serving diverse populations, national advocacy organizations and other local community partners to help promote registered apprenticeship opportunities
- launching an internal apprenticeship program, investing in industry and sector-based high road training partnerships that focus on equity and job quality
- expanding the scope of apprenticeship data collected in the Registered Apprenticeship Partners Information Management Data System (RAPIDS)
- implementing State Apprenticeship Expansion, Equity, and Innovation (SAEEI) grants that bolster states' efforts to expand programming and recruitment strategies to attract a diverse workforce
- investing in high road training partnerships (HRTPs) that bring together workers, labor and other worker organizations, employers and training providers to collaborate in developing industry and sector-based workforce solutions that focus on equity and job quality
The Department of Education plans to:
- advance college access and college completion by investing in HBCUs, TCCUs, MSIs, community colleges, and other under-resourced public institutions
- support schools to raise college completion rates for underserved students
- ensure that state educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) use ARP-ESSER funding to meet students’ social, emotional, mental health, academic and other needs
You can read the full equity action plan for the Department of Education here, as well as the full equity action plan for the Department of Labor here.
