ETA-TEGL-08-25.pdf

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING

ADMINISTRATION ADVISORY SYSTEM

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Washington, D.C. 20210

CLASSIFICATION

Apprenticeship

CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL

OA

DATE

April 10, 2026

RESCISSIONS

None

EXPIRATION DATE

Continuing

ADVISORY: TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 08-25

TO: GOVERNORS

NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM STAKEHOLDERS

OFFICE OF APPRENTICESHIP STAFF

STATE APPRENTICESHIP AGENCIES

STATE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION DIRECTORS

STATE EDUCATION AGENCY HEADS

STATE WORKFORCE AGENCY HEADS

FROM: HENRY MACK, ED.D.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY

SUBJECT: State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula Round 4 Grant Program

Application Instructions and Program Description

1. Purpose. The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U.S. Department of Labor

(DOL, or the Department, or we), announces the availability of approximately $85 million in formula funding to states and territories for a fourth round of State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula (herein referred to as “SAEF4”) grants.

This Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) and its attachments contain information about the formula award, application requirements and procedures, program goals and objectives; expected performance outcomes; eligibility; funding restrictions, policies, and limitations; period of performance (POP); and post-award policies related to this grant program.

2. Action Requested. Interested states and territories should review this TEGL and its attachments in their entirety. Successful applicants for SAEF4 must meet the requirements outlined in the attachments.

Interested and eligible entities, as described in Attachment I Program Description, must submit complete applications no later than 11:59 PM ET on May 26, 2026 in accordance with the application instructions in Attachment II Project Narrative.

3. Summary and Background.

a. Summary - The goal of the SAEF4 grant program is to fuel Registered Apprenticeship expansion by funding states and territories to enhance their capacity to register programs and support apprentices and employers. To meet this goal, DOL will implement a new performance-based formula to award Registered Apprenticeship funding to eligible states and territories. The SAEF4 performance-based formula, methodology and allocation details are provided in Attachment VIII Formula Allocation and Methodology. To receive formula funds, all eligible states and territories must commit to three (3) core requirements and states with federally recognized State Apprenticeship Agencies

(hereinafter referred to as SAA states) must commit to an additional core requirement, for a total of four (4) core commitments for SAA states:

i. (1) Setting statewide Registered Apprenticeship expansion goals;

ii. (2) Dedicating a portion of funding to direct support for Registered

Apprenticeship programs or apprentices in a state-identified industry(ies);

iii. (3) Committing to leveraged funds of at least 50 percent of the base funding amount allocated in the formula, and;

iv. (4) For SAA states, promoting transparency and accountability in their registration process by publishing average program approval times.

These requirements are described in Attachment II Project Narrative.

b. Background - Registered Apprenticeships address critical skills gaps across industries and regions nationwide. The SAEF4 program provides direct funding to states and territories based on apprenticeship system growth within the state. It aims to expand the National

Apprenticeship System while simultaneously incentivizing states to focus on growth of the system by removing barriers that currently limit employer participation in Registered

Apprenticeships, increasing transparency around the registration process, and setting ambitious goals for growth to advance President Trump’s goal to reach and surpass 1 million active apprentices. Further, SAEF4 aligns with America's Talent Strategy by preparing the workforce for economic growth and strengthens the National Apprenticeship

System as the nation's premier talent development pipeline. The program seeks to advance

DOL’s efforts to prioritize reindustrialization by focusing on in-demand sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, nuclear energy infrastructure, shipbuilding, advanced manufacturing, domestic mineral production, information technology (IT) and other Administration-identified industry sectors.

4. Program Authorization and OMB Information Collection.

Program Authorization. These grants are authorized under the Full-Year Continuing

Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, Division A, Title IX (Public Law 119-4).

OMB Information Collection. OMB Information Collection number 1225-0086, Expires June

30, 2028.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 50 hours per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments about the burden estimated or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the U.S. Department of

Labor, to the attention of the Departmental Clearance Officer, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N1301, Washington, D.C. 20210. Comments may also be emailed to:

DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov. (Please do not return your grant application to this address.

Send only comments about the burden caused by the collection of information to this address. Send your grant application to the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) via https://www.grants.gov as described in Attachment IV Application Requirements, Review Process, and Award Notices.)

This information is being collected for the purpose of awarding a grant. The Department will use the information collected through this TEGL to ensure that grants are awarded to applicants whose applications meet all of the requirements described in this TEGL and its attachments be considered for this grant.

5. Inquiries. If you have any questions, please contact LaQuisha Barnes, Grants Management

Specialist, Office of Grants Management, at SAEF4-TEGL@dol.gov, and specifically reference the TEGL No. 08-25. This TEGL is available on the ETA website at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/grants and at https://www.grants.gov.

6. References.

• National Apprenticeship Act, 29 U.S.C. 50

• Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, Division A, Title IX (Public

Law 119-4)

7. Attachments.

• Attachment I: Program Description

• Attachment II: Project Narrative

• Attachment III: Performance Reporting Requirements

• Attachment IV: Application Requirements, Review Process, and Award Notices

• Attachment V: Suggested Abstract Template

• Attachment VI: Suggested Work Plan Template mailto:DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov https://www.grants.gov/ mailto:SAEF4-TEGL@dol.gov https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/grants https://www.grants.gov/

• Attachment VII: Formula Allocations and Methodology

ATTACHMENT I

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Program Description: State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula, Round Four (SAEF4)

The State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula program (SAEF) supports the expansion of the National

Apprenticeship System by funding states and territories to enhance their capacity to register programs and support apprentices and employers. In its fourth round of SAEF (SAEF4), the Department seeks to provide approximately $85 million in formula funding, contingent upon the availability of federal funds, to support eligible states and territories expanding Registered Apprenticeship programs broadly and in specific industry sectors, including but not limited to Administration-wide priorities such as artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, nuclear energy infrastructure, shipbuilding, advanced manufacturing, domestic mineral production, and information technology (IT).

Funding may also be used to bolster a state’s capacity to expand Registered Apprenticeship, including hiring additional staff that can include Registered Apprenticeship navigators supporting local workforce areas or with key workforce partners, streamlining registration procedures, improving alignment between the Registered Apprenticeship, workforce, and education systems and supporting the adoption of learning and employment records (LERs) in Registered Apprenticeship programs for purposes of skill validation of Registered Apprentices and/or the acquisition of accelerated credit toward a degreed

Registered Apprenticeship. Funds may also be used to work with sponsors and related instruction providers to develop new or modify existing Registered Apprenticeship related instruction programs to be eligible for Workforce Pell Grant funding. If any eligible states or territories do not apply for funding, at the discretion of the Department, some or all of the remaining balance of funds of the total $85 million may be provided to eligible states and territories that applied for funding, in addition to the amount identified in Attachment IV Abstract. Additional funds would be allocated using the same performance-based formula applied to the base funding amount. Applicants should identify in their project abstract if they would be interested in additional funds, in addition to the amount identified in

Attachment IV.

This year, the Department will not offer competitive funding for states, unlike in previous years. To date, 25 states received competitive funding through SAEF for innovative expansion strategies. Given the amount of funding awarded through prior competitions that remains available to states, no additional competitive funds will be awarded in SAEF4.

Formula grants will be allocated using a new, performance-based formula based on new and active apprentices (reported in the Registered Apprenticeship Partners Information Database System (RAPIDS) for the prior fiscal year). The performance-based formula aligns with President Trump’s goal of meeting and surpassing 1 million active apprentices. It provides funding to eligible states and territories to expand the National Apprenticeship System and encourages growth by incentivizing states to reduce barriers for employers and streamline the registration process. To encourage states to effectively apply innovative strategies to advance Registered Apprenticeship, the Department intends to continue using the performance-based formula in future rounds of SAEF, contingent upon the future availability of federal funds.

I. Required Application Document: Project Narrative

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States must submit a streamlined project narrative to apply for SAEF4 grant funds.

In applying for these funds, states must commit to the core requirements described above in

Section 3 “Summary and Background,” that support statewide expansion of Registered

Apprenticeship programs. States are encouraged to leverage existing public workforce and education system funding streams such as funds provided under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Career and Technical Education (CTE) funds provided through the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, and other relevant funding sources. States are also encouraged to leverage other DOL-funded national Registered

Apprenticeship expansion investments and initiatives, including DOL-funded Registered

Apprenticeship cooperative agreements, industry intermediaries, national outreach campaigns, and relevant tools and systems to increase the impact of funding and statewide expansion efforts. Additionally, SAEF4 funds may be used to bolster and accelerate the

State’s training activities in their approved Statement of Work (SOW) under the SAEF3

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). For more information regarding the specific project narrative application requirements see Attachment II Project Narrative.

II. Eligibility

A. Eligible Applicants

For the purposes of this TEGL, all 50 States of the United States, the District of

Columbia, and territories with more than 100 active apprentices as of the end of FY 2025 are eligible applicants. Accordingly, for the purposes of this TEGL henceforth, the term

“state” means “any of the 50 States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any territory with more than 100 active apprentices.” States and territories with fewer than 100 active Registered Apprentices (as of FY 2025 data), specifically American

Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, are not eligible to receive formula funding and are encouraged to continue utilizing funds provided under SAEF3 to further expand Registered Apprenticeship in their area. To view the Office of Apprenticeship’s (OA) FY 2025 Data and Statistics, please visit https://www.apprenticeship.gov/data-and-statistics.

The applicant will serve as the grantee and have overall fiscal and administrative responsibility for the grant. The applicant must also have the organizational capacity to:

• Carry out and/or oversee the programmatic functions of the grant;

• Receive and respond to all inquiries or communications from the Department;

• Oversee and manage all expenditures under the grant with an emphasis on transparency, accountability, and data-driven outcomes;

• Withdraw or draw down funds through the Department of Health and Human

Services - Payment Management System (HHS-PMS);

• Submit all required deliverables;

• Amend the award agreement or SOW as necessary;

https://www.apprenticeship.gov/data-and-statistics

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• Collect, synthesize, and report data received by employers for all training participants to the Department; and

• Work with the Department to close out the grant.

States (the Governor official) must identify the State agency that will be the grant recipient

(e.g., State Workforce Agency eligible for funding under Title I of the WIOA, State

Educational Agency, or an SAA). Only this entity will have responsibility for administering the project and will serve as the grant’s fiscal agent. For SAA States, the SAA must be included as a partner if the State agency applicant is not the SAA, and the partnership must be documented in the application through a letter of commitment from the Head of the SAA.

Each State is limited to one application. If a State submits multiple applications, the

Department will only consider the most recently received application that is submitted by the deadline.

B. Eligible Participants

For the purposes of this grant program, eligible participants are persons 16 years of age and older who receive a direct, grant-funded service. Funds may also be used to support participants younger than age 16 who are enrolled in pre-apprenticeship programs that lead directly to enrollment in a Registered Apprenticeship; however, the participant must be at least 16 years old by the time they are expected to complete the pre-apprenticeship program and enroll in a Registered Apprenticeship. States can also use funds that support a broad range of activities that may not directly serve participants but support overall efforts to grow and expand Registered Apprenticeship statewide and therefore increase the number of apprentices enrolled in programs within the state.

III. Reporting

Grantees must follow the Department’s reporting requirements for quarterly financial and performance reports. Details about grant performance reporting requirements are described in Attachment III Performance Reporting Requirements.

IV. Period of Performance

The POP is 36 months with an anticipated start date of July 1, 2026. States are encouraged to spend funds in alignment with their expansion needs and may expend all grant funds before the POP with no penalty.

The Department does not anticipate POP extensions for awards made under this funding opportunity. Please refer to Attachment IV Section IV. B for more information on preparing the SF424A and Budget Narrative.

V. Cost Sharing

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This program does not require cost sharing (including matching) funds. Please refer to

Attachment II for information about a required commitment for leveraged resources.

VI. Funding Restrictions, Policies, and Limitations

All proposed project costs must be necessary and reasonable and in accordance with federal requirements (including, but not limited to, regulatory requirements and award terms and conditions), grantees awarded funds will be prohibited for using funds to:

• Support the administration, operation, or any other activities that do not conform with federal law and regulations governing Registered Apprenticeship, including, for example, using funds to support a non-conforming State Apprenticeship

Council as described in Circular 2026-02.

• Support or develop duplicative state-specific alternative systems to Standards Builder or RAPIDS. States are encouraged to use tools developed by OA whenever possible to increase alignment across the National Apprenticeship System. States that are seeking to improve and enhance existing systems are encouraged to focus these improvements on strengthening and ensure efficient reporting to DOL. States are encouraged to use leveraged resources (reference commitment in Attachment II) to support these enhancements and align state systems with Standards Builder, RAPIDS, or other federal systems. These activities cannot duplicate or attempt to replace federal systems available to states.

• Support activities that do not comply with federal antidiscrimination law and that discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, or other protected characteristics. For more information on prohibited activities, see the

Department of Justice’s “Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding

Unlawful Discrimination.”

VII. Additional Application Requirements

For all other application submission requirements that apply to this funding opportunity, see the 2026 DOL Application guide, Section V.

https://www.apprenticeship.gov/sites/default/files/bulletins/2026-02%20Roles%20and%20Functions%20of%20State%20Apprenticeship%20Agencies%20and%20State%20Apprenticeship%20Councils.pdf https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1409486/dl https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1409486/dl https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/grants/resources

ATTACHMENT II

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Application Requirements: Project Narrative

To apply for SAEF4 grant funds, states must submit a project narrative or the Statement of Work

(SOW). The SOW must address parts A and B, described below, for the Department to consider it fully responsive. Applicants must also describe any activities described in part C, if applicable to the SOW.

A. States must describe how they plan to meet the commitment to several requirements that support the statewide expansion of Registered Apprenticeship programs:

1. Set Statewide Expansion Goals. States are required to establish a statewide expansion goal for the total number of active apprentices, by industry sector and occupation, as measured through the “Apprentices by State” dashboard on apprenticeship.gov, to achieve by the end of the grant’s Period of Performance (POP). Post-award, the Department will work closely with states to refine and adjust their expansion goal, as needed, to ensure it is clearly defined and tied to reportable metrics so they are in position to successfully meet their goal. The expansion goal must reflect all apprentices registered in the state. Note: States should not base the goal on the number of apprentices who directly receive services or enroll in programs supported by the grant funds.

States are also encouraged to set other ambitious goals for apprentice growth, and the

Department will measure states’ efforts to meet these goals as part of this program’s performance reporting requirements. The Department will not penalize states that fail to meet their statewide expansion goal or other additional goals if states demonstrate efforts and progress toward meeting them throughout the award’s POP.

2. Support Employers and Registered Apprentices in Targeted Industry(ies). States must specify a percentage of SAEF4 funding, determined by the state, that will be reserved to directly support Registered Apprenticeship programs within a targeted industry(ies) identified by the state. States must describe how funding reserved for the specific industry(ies) will be spent, which may include, but is not limited to, developing new and expanding existing programs in the targeted industry(ies),1 support for employers and Registered Apprenticeship sponsors in the targeted industry(ies) (e.g., incentive payments), alignment of Career

Technical Education (CTE) programs of study with pre-apprenticeships within the targeted industry(ies), and support for apprentices (e.g., costs associated with supportive services, Related Training Instruction (RTI), and On-the-Job Learning (OJL)) enrolled in Registered

Apprenticeship programs within these targeted industries. Applicants must specify their targeted industry(ies) and may propose an industry(ies) other than those listed in this TEGL and its attachments. Applicants are encouraged to leverage existing partnerships, instead of identifying new partnerships, to support their grant program. Please refer to Attachment II

1 An expanded Registered Apprenticeship program can only be counted once during the grant’s period of performance, regardless of method. Any apprentice who does not directly receive a direct, grant-funded services but is enrolled in a

Registered Apprenticeship program that is developed or expanded using grant funds are reportable individuals for this grant.

https://www.apprenticeship.gov/data-and-statistics/apprentices-by-state-dashboard

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Section C “Other allowable activities” for more details.

3. Leveraged Resources Requirement. States and territories must describe their commitment of at least 50 percent leveraged resources based on formula allocation.

This requirement is designed to maximize the impact of the SAEF4 grant program and ensures that states and territories demonstrate a tangible, sustained financial commitment to

Registered Apprenticeship beyond Federal funds, supporting longer-term sustainability, scale, and continued program activities within the state.

States and territories must commit leveraged resources and funds in an amount that is at least

50 percent of the formula allocation to support costs allowable under the TEGL. (See

Attachment VII Formula Allocation and Methodology).

States and territories must describe their strategy and demonstrate how they will achieve the 50 percent leveraged funds requirement. In addition, applicants must describe how leveraged funds will be used to support Registered Apprenticeship expansion. Applicants may have up to 90 days to solidify their strategy of meeting the leveraged funds requirement. States and territories have the entire POP to meet this requirement.

The information provided in this section must also be reflected in the Budget Narrative to indicate how matching funds will be allocated. Leveraged funds must be described in the

Budget Narrative as described in Attachment IV. Section IV. B. For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application Guide, Section II. B

Cost Sharing.

About Leveraged Resources, Approaches for Meeting Leveraged Resources, and

Potential Funding Sources

Leveraged resources are all resources, including cash and in-kind, in excess of the award and associated cost sharing, if applicable, (e.g., in-kind contributions that support administrative staff not funded by the grant). Leveraged funds may also include personnel, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, supplies, and other costs that help carry out the grant program.

Leveraged resources may be met through local, state, federal, public and private funds including but not limited to Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Governor’s

Reserve Funds, State-funded tax credits or grants, or other means as appropriate to support the Administration’s investments in the SAEF program. Grantees may consider the following sources of leveraged funds:

• WIOA Governor’s Reserve Funds. States and territories are encouraged to exercise their flexibility to commit funds from the WIOA Governor’s Reserve to achieve the

Administration’s priority of exceeding 1 million apprentices and to further advance

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the Governor’s priority workforce development programs that directly support the expansion of Registered Apprenticeship.

• State-Funded Tax Credits or Grants. States that offer tax credits or operate grants funded solely through state funds that support Registered Apprenticeship programs or

Registered Apprentices may use funds dedicated to these programs during the grant

POP to meet the leveraged funds requirement. For tax credits or grants, the amount that may be counted is the actual amount drawn down, expended, or otherwise realized by recipients during the POP — not the statutory authorization, appropriation limit, or budget cap. For tax credits, this means the value of credits actually used during the POP, and for grants it means awards paid during the POP. To fully satisfy the leveraged-funds requirement, the actual amount provided through the tax credit or funded grant program, must be equal to at least 50 percent of the base funding amount allocated in the formula to fully meet the leveraged funds requirement for this grant application. Funds for these tax credits or grants may be used to partially meet the leveraged funds requirement if the remainder of the requirement is met through other means. Funding under the tax credit or grant program must exclusively be for the purpose of expanding Registered Apprenticeship and cannot be available to other workforce programs. Funding must be available to all Registered Apprenticeship programs registered for Federal purposes operating within the State.2 States with programs that currently do not meet these requirements can work with their state legislature to revise their tax credit or grant program during the POP and may apply funds dedicated to the program towards the leveraged funds requirement once the tax credit or grant program meets these requirements.

• Other Sources of Leveraged Resources. The leveraged funding requirement may be met through a variety of other means such as philanthropic and private sector investments. For example, federal leveraged funds could also include funding from Carl

D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins) CTE State Leadership

Activities funding, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental

Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training (SNAP E&T), Every Student

Succeeds Act (ESSA), or other relevant programs, as permissible under the specific program. General funds to pay Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) who work on Registered

Apprenticeship programs, providing paid tuition for apprentices through the State’s community college system, or sponsor/employer outreach activities, as appropriate may also be used to meet the leveraged funding requirements.

4. Program Approval Time (For States with Recognized State Apprenticeship Agencies

2 In SAA states, some Registered Apprenticeship programs may be recognized by OA for federal purposes in a State but have not received recognition for State purposes from the SAA. For example, programs utilizing National Program Standard

(NPS) operating in a SAA state may only be registered with OA and not the SAA. Such Registered Apprenticeship programs must be eligible to receive funds under the tax credit or state-funded grant to receive funding.

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Only).

The Department is committed to the timely consideration of standards for apprenticeship and program registrations across the National Apprenticeship System, with the goal of improving customer and stakeholder experiences in quality and consistency of Registered

Apprenticeship program registration.

To engage State Apprenticeship Agency (SAA) states in promoting transparency and accountability, SAA states are required to publish on a public-facing website their Registered

Apprenticeship program approval performance metrics (e.g., average time to approve program standards upon a sponsor’s final submission of signed program standards) by the end of the first year of the grant. SAA states are further required to update this information on an annual basis. OA will provide technical assistance and support to grantees on fulfilling this requirement.

SAA states are also required to streamline and reduce timelines to apprenticeship program approval while safeguarding the quality and integrity of Registered Apprenticeship programs and standards. SAA states may leverage Office of Apprenticeship’s (OA) Standards Builder and Apprenticeship Occupation Request (AOR) tool or other in-house tools to streamline and reduce timelines for program approval. SAA states may use funds to hire additional staff, including Apprenticeship Training Representatives (ATRs), to assist with program registration and reduce approval timelines. To align with systemwide improvements to the program registration process, SAA states are required to establish a commitment to make program registration decisions within 30 days, similar to OA’s commitment announced through Bulletin 2026-35, “Announcement of Office of Apprenticeship 30-day Commitment to Apprenticeship Program Registration Determinations and new virtual “Shot Clock” website.”

B. Project Design.

Applicants are encouraged to describe their project design using a brief, high-level description of the activities that will be implemented by the grant. In addition to describing how the state will meet the requirements mentioned above in part A, grant funds may be used for a wide range of services and activities to broadly develop or expand Registered Apprenticeships within the state.3

C. Other allowable activities. In addition to the requirements mentioned above in part A that support the statewide expansion of Registered Apprenticeship programs, states may also conduct the following allowable activities:

• Proposed accelerated SAEF3 activities. States have the option to identify activities

3 An expanded Registered Apprenticeship program can only be counted once during the grant’s POP, regardless of method.

Any apprentice who does not directly receive a direct, grant-funded services but is enrolled in a Registered Apprenticeship program that is developed or expanded using grant funds are reportable individuals for this grant.

https://www.apprenticeship.gov/employers/registered-apprenticeship-program/register/standards-builder https://www.apprenticeship.gov/employers/registered-apprenticeship-program/register/apprenticeship-occupation-request https://www.apprenticeship.gov/sites/default/files/bulletins/2026-35%20Announcement%20of%20Shot%20Clock.pdf

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contained in their SAEF3 workplan that they plan to amplify under SAEF4. If states decide to expand on activities permitted under SAEF3, they must clearly identify these activities in their project design and explain how they will rapidly accelerate these activities under

SAEF4.

• Strategies to align or incorporate CTE programs with Registered Apprenticeship in your State to drive statewide expansion of Registered Apprenticeship. States can use

SAEF4 funds to modify CTE programs and their curriculums to serve as pre-apprenticeship programs that lead to Registered Apprenticeship enrollment. To achieve this goal, states may develop partnerships between CTE program providers and Registered Apprenticeship sponsors to encourage CTE completers to enroll in Registered Apprenticeship programs.

States can also work with employers and Registered Apprenticeship sponsors to align CTE curricula with the specific skills and competencies required for Registered Apprenticeship programs in high-demand sectors. Additionally, states can use SAEF4 funds to create pathways that allow students enrolled in CTE programs to receive advanced standing when those students enter into Registered Apprenticeship programs, facilitating a smoother transition from education to skilled employment. States can also build the capacity of regional intermediaries that will enhance access to effective pre-apprenticeship and

Registered Apprenticeship opportunities. Furthermore, States should prioritize stakeholder collaboration to identify local workforce needs and ensure that CTE offerings are responsive and relevant to the recruitment needs of local Registered Apprenticeship programs. States should also prioritize data integration and sharing, in addition to scaling the adoption of learning and employment records, or LERs in Registered Apprenticeship programs for skill validation of Registered Apprentices and/or the acquisition of accelerated credit toward a degreed Registered Apprenticeship. By strategically utilizing SAEF4 funds in these ways, states can create CTE strategies that drive expansion of Registered Apprenticeship opportunities and that provide learners with seamless pathways from the classroom to high-demand jobs while delivering a reliable talent pipeline for employers and supporting regional economic growth.

• Incentive funding. Applicants may use grant funds to provide “incentive” funds to sponsors, employers, joint labor management organizations, or industry associations (or other partners included in a multi-employer partnership) to directly fund new or expand existing Registered

Apprenticeship programs in any targeted industry(ies), in which they are serving. These incentive funds are intended to incentivize employers and other stakeholders to develop and expand Registered Apprenticeship programs. Incentive funds may also be used to enroll and support apprentices. Applicants are encouraged to review the Department’s recently released

Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program Funding Opportunity Announcement, which is a $145 million investment using this incentive payments program model.

Additionally, applicants are encouraged to become familiar with the Department’s American

Manufacturing Apprenticeship Incentive Fund.

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/eta/eta20260213-0 https://arkansasosd.com/mfgfund/ https://arkansasosd.com/mfgfund/

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o Incentive Funding must be reasonable in accordance with 2 CFR 200.404 and align with the goals of this TEGL. Applicants must have written policies and procedures in place governing the awarding of incentive funds, and the incentives provided under this TEGL must comply with these organizational policies. Policies and procedures should include detailed processes for identification of recipients, distribution, and management of the incentive funds to ensure employer commitments are met, and risk mitigation. Further, grantees shall also provide, in quarterly narrative reports to the Department, all recipients of incentive funding, status of activities related to the use of incentive funding, and itemized costs related to the use of incentive funding.

• State Capacity and Staffing. States may also use grant funds to improve their capacity to expand the National Apprenticeship System, including but not limited to hiring additional staff (including ATRs and Registered Apprenticeship navigators) and streamlining registration or related workforce systems. States are highly encouraged to use their SAEF4 grant funds for the appropriate levels of staffing that are needed to effectively manage each round of their SAEF grants.

• Supportive Services. States are encouraged to develop clear policies and procedures to use existing supportive services from WIOA programs or other funding sources to support apprentices from enrollment through completion of Registered Apprenticeship programs.

However, if no other funds are available, states may allocate funds for supportive services to assist individuals benefiting from this grant program, grant recipients may use up to 15 percent of grant funds to provide supportive services to individuals who are participating in education and training activities provided through the grant. Please note: Specific allocation amounts must also be reflected in the budget narrative. Supportive services can include various forms of assistance, such as scholarships that can be used to offset related instruction

(RI) costs, transportation, or other supportive services necessary to participate in and complete the apprenticeship. For example, supportive services include childcare, community service linkages, necessary work tools and clothing, transportation, housing, internet access, mental health counseling, disability accommodations, legal help, educational testing, financial counseling, and emergency cash assistance. These services can also extend to mentoring, support groups, and peer networking to encourage participation.

ATTACHMENT III

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Performance Reporting Requirements

Quarterly Performance, Narrative, and Financial Reports

Grantees must submit quarterly performance, narrative, and fiscal reports during the Period of

Performance (POP). Grantees will receive a grant data and performance handbook post award.

• ETA 9173, Quarterly Performance Report (QPR): The QPR is a quantitative summary of apprentice outcomes including participants and reportable individuals that are submitted through the Department’s Workforce Integrated Performance System (WIPS). Grantees will upload a data file to WIPS that aggregates individual level data including apprentice-level Registered

Apprenticeship Partners Information Database System (RAPIDS) Identification (ID) codes and participant outcomes.

• ETA 9179, Quarterly Narrative Report (QNR): A qualitative summary of grant activities for each reporting quarter.

• ETA 9130, Fiscal Report: All financial data is required to be reported cumulatively from grant inception, through the end of each quarter. Expenditure data is required to be reported on an accrual basis. The ETA 9130 Fiscal Reports are submitted through the Payment Management

System.

For the purpose of collecting additional information related to grant activities, the Department will work with grantees to receive additional information, including RAPIDS program IDs, related to the development and expansion of apprenticeship programs supported by the grant.

Performance Measure and Target Expansion Goal

States must provide a numeric target expansion goal for one performance measure as required by the

TEGL’s first core commitment. To account for the broad range of allowable capacity building activities under SAEF4, the Department recognizes that the Registered Apprenticeship expansion goal should not only include those Registered Apprentices enrolled using grant funds and should reflect broader state goals. States must set a Registered Apprenticeship expansion goal that includes all apprentices registered in the state by the end of the POP, not just those who are supported by the grant funding. OA will track state’s progression against this expansion goal using the “Apprentices by State” dashboard on apprenticeship.gov.

States are also encouraged to set other ambitious goals for apprenticeship growth, such as the number of programs developed or expanded using grant funds.4 States will not be penalized if the statewide expansion goal, or other ambitious goals, is not achieved by the end of the POP if states demonstrate their efforts and progress towards meeting these goals. The Department will coordinate with grantees post-award to determine a process to collect the below information from sponsors in states not utilizing

4 An expanded Registered Apprenticeship program can only be counted once during the grant’s POP, regardless of method.

Any apprentice who does not directly receive a direct, grant-funded services but is enrolled in a Registered Apprenticeship program that is developed or expanded using grant funds are reportable individuals for this grant.

ATTACHMENT III

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RAPIDS.

States may use the table below as an example to describe their performance goals and target outcomes.

Performance Measure Reporting Mechanism

Required: Total Number of Apprentices

Registered in the State by the End of the POP

(Proposed by Applicant; as described in

Attachment II Section A.1).

OA will track this through RAPIDS (as applicable).5 Grantees do not need to report this information.

Optional: State specified performance measure and target goal to advance apprenticeship growth.

To be determined by the state upon grant award, with support from the Department as needed.

5 Grantees can see the count of apprentices in the state through the “Apprentices by Program Location” tab of the

“Apprentices by State” dashboard on apprenticeship.gov at: https://www.apprenticeship.gov/data-and-statistics/apprentices-by-state-dashboard.

ATTACHMENT IV

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Application Requirements, Review Process, and Award Notices

I. TEGL No. 08-25

Assistance Listing Number: 17.285

II. Availability of Funds and Award Information

The Department anticipates the availability of approximately $85 million to award 53 grants. Awards made under this TEGL are subject to the availability of Federal funds.

The Department reserves the right to change this amount depending on the quantity and quality of applications submitted.

III. Application Submission Requirements

• Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management

All applicants for Federal grant funding must have a Unique Entity Identifier and be registered in the System for Award Management.

• Submission Instructions

Applicants must electronically submit their application through Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on May 26, 2026. ETA will not review applications received after

11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date. ETA will not accept applications sent by hardcopy (mail or hand delivery), e-mail, telegram, or facsimile (FAX). For a complete statement of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application Guide, Section V. C Submission Instructions.

• Intergovernmental Review

This funding opportunity TEGL is not subject to Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.”

IV. Application Content and Format

ETA will consider only one application from each state or territory that is submitted by a State

Agency. If an organization submits multiple applications, only the most recently received application that meets the deadline will be considered. If the most recent application is disqualified for any reason, ETA will not replace it with an earlier application.

Applications submitted in response to this solicitation must consist of four separate and distinct parts:

A. SF-424, “Application for Federal Assistance;”

B. Project Budget, composed of the SF-424A and Budget Narrative;

https://www.grants.gov/

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C. Project Narrative (see Attachment II Application Requirements - Project Narrative);

and

D. Attachments to the Project Narrative.

The applicant must make sure that the funding amount requested is consistent across all parts and sub-parts of the application. The applicant must submit the application in one package.

Documents received separately will be tracked separately and will not be attached to the application for review.

A. SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance

You must complete the SF-424, “Application for Federal Assistance.”

For a complete description of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application

Guide, Section IV A SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance.

B. Project Budget, Composed of the SF-424A and Budget Narrative

Applicants must complete the SF-424A Budget Information Form and a Budget Narrative.

The Budget and Budget Narrative do not count against the page limit requirements for the

Project Narrative.

The Budget Narrative should also include a section that describes how the required leveraged funds will be achieved to support grant activities. Grantees may have up to 90 days to solidify their strategy of meeting the leveraged funds requirement post award. Please refer to

Attachment II A.3 for information about a required commitment for leveraged resources.

Leveraged resources are all resources, including cash and in-kind, in excess of the award and associated cost sharing (e.g., in-kind contributions that support administrative staff not funded by the grant). Leveraged funds may include personnel, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, supplies, and other costs that help carry out the grant program. Applicants are encouraged to leverage resources to increase stakeholder investment in the project and broaden the impact of the project itself.

Applicants must ensure that the project narrative, budget narrative, and SF-424A align and reflect the 36-month POP to implement their grant program. States may expend grant funds sooner than the 36-month POP, without penalty. States should not propose a SAEF4 budget that includes potential funds from future rounds of SAEF, as these will have different goals, objectives and allowable activities. Once awarded, grantees are expected to operate their grant concurrently with any SAEF3 funds.

For a complete description of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application

Guide, Section IV B Project Budget, Composed of the SF-424A and Budget Narrative.

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C. Project Narrative

To demonstrate the organization’s ability to achieve the program goals described in

Attachment I of this funding TEGL and implement this grant, a Project Narrative is required with your application. The project narrative should be a brief, high-level summary of the proposed project design and must be responsive to the requirements described in Attachment II. The narrative is limited to no more than 10 pages and must meet the following formatting requirements:

• double-spaced

• single-sided

• page size of 8.5 x 11-inches

• 1-inch page margins

• Times New Roman 12-point font

• includes the section headers listed in the Attachment II Application Requirements:

Project Narrative of this TEGL.

The Department will not read or consider any information or material beyond the specific page limit when reviewing the Project Narrative.

D. Attachments to the Project Narrative

In addition to the Project Narrative, the application also includes required attachments as explained below. These attachments must be clearly labeled and do not count toward the

Project Narrative page limit. Any other attachments included beyond those listed below will not be reviewed in the scoring of the application.

Applicants are encouraged to name the files using the document names listed below. Do not include special characters (e.g. &,–,*,%,/,#). However, underscores (for example:

My_Attached_File.pdf) to separate a file name are acceptable.

1. Required Attachments

a. Abstract

Applicants must submit a 1- to 2-page abstract summarizing the proposed project.

Applicants are encouraged to use the Abstract template, available in Attachment V.

The information provided in your abstract may be published to a public facing website as a summary of your project. The abstract must include the following:

• Applicant’s State agency name

• Applicant location (State)

• Funding Amount

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• Confirm the State is interested in and has sufficient capacity to receive additional funding (on top of the base funding amount) if it becomes available: Yes / No

• Cost Sharing Amount, if applicable

• Service area (the local/regional service area if other than Statewide)

• Project title

• Project purpose and key activities

• Description of the key industry(ies) and occupations targeted

• Required and/or optional partners, if applicable

• Public contact information

b. Governor’s Letter

A letter from the Governor must be included in the application to designate the

Agency authorized to submit the State’s application(s). This letter must also demonstrate the State’s commitment to this grant effort. Specifically, the letter must:

• Describe specifically how the Governor or chief elected official plans to support the expansion Registered Apprenticeship programs within the State.

• Designate the State agency to be the recipient of the award(s). For states with federally recognized SAAs, the SAA must be included as a partner if the state agency applicant is not the SAA. For states that do not have a federally recognized SAA, the state must commit to work in partnership with the federal Office of Apprenticeship within the state.

2. Optional Attachments

a. Work Plan – POP 36 months

Applicants are encouraged to submit a Work Plan that describes the project goals, milestones and key deliverables that will be achieved throughout the grant’s POP and this timeframe must be reflected in the work plan. Grantees have the flexibility to spend down funds before the end of the POP and may adjust the activities proposed in the work plan during the POP.

Applicants that choose to submit a Work Plan are encouraged to use the Work Plan template, available in Attachment VI.

V. Application Checklist

Use the checklist below as a guide when preparing your application package to ensure your application contains all required items. Applicants should not include the checklist in the application package.

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Application Requirement Instructions Complete?

Project Abstract Attachment VI

Submission requirements are met Attachment IV

Eligibility criteria are met Attachment I

Components of the application are saved in one of the specified formats and are not corrupt. (We will attempt to open the document but will not take any additional measures in the event of problems with opening.)

Attachment IV

SAM Registration Attachment IV

SF-424 includes a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and line 18a. aligns with the amount specified in Attachment

VII.

Attachment IV

SF-424A Budget Information Form Attachment IV

Budget Narrative Attachment IV

Project Narrative (Parts A and B, and as applicable, Part

C)

Attachment II

Governor’s Letter Attachment IV

VI. Other Review Criteria, Selection Process and Award Information

Prior to issuance, and annually thereafter, awards will be subject to review in accordance with the process described in Executive Order 14332, Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking.

The government may elect to award the grant(s) with or without discussion with the applicant.