由于工党期待期待已久的学徒制定的最终规则，建筑工会取得了重大的监管胜利，这使建筑行业不受新的“行业认可”培训和教育计划的排除，以寻求进入其劳动力的人。

该排除率将建筑行业划分为建筑行业，建筑行业和一些支持IT的专业收缩群体以及反对其的两个最大承包商协会。

DOL says that the overall aim of its new rule,宣布on March 10, is to expand the use of apprenticeships in industries where such training programs aren’t greatly used. [View text of regulationhere.]

To achieve that goal, the regulation calls for allowing companies, industry groups, educational institutions, unions and other entities to set up and operate Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs).

劳工部长尤金·斯卡利亚（Eugene Scalia）在一份声明中说：“这项新规则为雇主，社区学院和其他人提供了一种灵活，创新的方式，可以快速扩大电信，卫生保健，网络安全和其他学徒的学徒的学徒制，目前尚不广泛可用。”

劳工部表示，新规则将于5月11日生效。

For construction, the key issue related to the regulation was whether DOL would keep the industry’s current exemption from a central provision of the rule.

That provision is establishment of IRAPs, which would take on responsibilities for much of the apprenticeship standard-setting that DOL and state agencies now handle.

The rule also would let companies, industry groups and other organizations apply to DOL to become Standards Recognition Entities (SREs). The SREs would determine the standards for the IRAPs’ training and curricula in specific industries or business sectors. SREs would be subject to DOL oversight.

That would be a significant change from the current Registered Apprenticeship system, in which DOL or state agencies register and validate apprentices and apprenticeship programs.

Wave of comments

该部门于去年6月发布了一项拟议的规则，并被该提案的327,000多条评论淹没。DOL说，总数是其就业和培训管理局有史以来对拟议法规的最大收益。[查看Enr新利luck 8/30/2019故事here.]. It added that a majority of the comments were related to "form letter campaigns."

The building trades unions strongly supported keeping the exemption and also wanted to make it permanent.

Sean McGarvey, president of North America's Building Trades Unions, said last summer that nearly 325,000 of the comments supported the unions' position.

具有联合学徒计划的承包商团体以及与工会的其他关系，例如国家电气承包商协会，美国机械承包商协会以及钣金和空调承包商国家协会，也支持保持豁免。

Those opposing the exclusion were contractor groups such as the Associated General Contractors of America and Associated Builders and Contractors. They argued that construction has a major shortage of skilled labor and that IRAPs would provide a way to help ease that problem.

No 'sunset' for exclusion

In the end, the Labor Dept. came down on the side of the unions. In the rule, the department said that it “has determined that programs that seek to train apprentices to perform construction activities…will not be recognized as IRAPs.” DOL also decided not to include a “sunset” provision, that would end the construction exemption after a certain period of time.

它补充道,“在这rulemakin部门的目标g is to expand apprenticeships tonewindustry sectors and occupations.
DOL noted, “Registered apprenticeship programs are more widespread and well-established in the construction sector than in any other sector.”

Labor Dept. statistics show that in fiscal year 2018, construction had 166,629 active apprentices, the largest total among industries. Ranking second is the military, with 98,435. Construction's total did decline 5% from the 2017 level.

DOL said that it “has determined that a complete exclusion of construction, but no other sector, is most consistent with the goal of encouraging more apprenticeships in new industry sectors that lack widespread and well-established registered apprenticeship opportunities.”

麦加维指出，该建筑物工会与建筑承包商合作，每年在其近1,600个“教学中心”上花费超过10亿美元。

他说，纳布都参加了行政学徒任务组，工会的目标包括确保其注册学徒计划的完整性不会被“淡化”。

McGarvey added, "With the issuance of the final rule, we now see that we were able to protect our industry's successful programs."

Contractor groups comment

David Long, NECA chief executive officer, welcomed the DOL rule and its continuation of the construction exemption. He said in a statement, “Given the high concentration of time-tested apprenticeship programs in the construction industry, there is no need to create a parallel program that would detract from our nearly 80 years of experience as the industry’s gold standard.”

MCAA总法律顾问约翰·麦克纳尼（John McNerney）通过电子邮件告诉ENR新利luck：“我们很高兴该部门听取建筑行业的压倒性评论，并维持并加强了建筑行业的豁免 - 将其永久性化，并消除了迫在眉睫的威胁。在短期内的豁免。”

Stephen Sandherr, AGC CEO, said in a statement, “It remains troubling that the administration has wasted so much time, energy and political capital in creating a new apprenticeship program that is both deeply flawed and fails to address construction workforce shortages.”

Greg Sizemore, ABC vice president of safety, environment and workforce development, said in a March 11statement,"All U.S. workers should have the opportunity to participate in DOL's new industry programs, particularly as federal registered apprenticeship programs supply only a small fraction of the construction industry's workforce."

Sizemore added that ABC would continue to use an "all-of-the-above" approach to worker education.

He noted that ABC member firms spent $1.6 billion on worker craft, leadership and safety education in 2018, up 45% from the previous year and the number of participants in those programs almost doubled, to more than 980,000.

Story updated on 3/11/2020 with comment from Associated Builders and Contractors.