Student credit Patrick Ball highlights why an apprenticeship is a good idea

Hollywood actor Patrick Ball recently made headlines for calling his $80,000 in student loan debt “a huge burden.” In an interview with Cultured magazine, Ball said he believes he would have died in debt if it wasn’t for playing the lead role in the award-winning play, The Pitt.

Football was lucky, but for most Americans, there is no happy ending. More than 42 million Americans have student loans, making student loan debt over $1.6 trillion. The average borrower has an outstanding balance of about $40,000.

Pursuing a college degree makes sense for many people, but it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Too many students are graduating to find a drought of job opportunities in their field while at the same time struggling to pay off their student loans. Even if they manage to find a job, the average annual salary of a new graduate is not enough to support one person, let alone a family. The result is crippling debt and a stagnant future.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Under the leadership of President Donald Trump, the Department of Labor (DOL) is working hard to create alternatives for Americans seeking secure, family-supporting, and much-needed jobs. As we celebrate National Apprenticeship Week, we’re highlighting programs that offer hands-on training, strong teaching opportunities, and insights that benefit employees and employers alike.

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Last year, Trump issued an executive order titled “Preparing Americans for the High-Paying Trade Jobs of the Future” and set a goal of finding more than one million active learners. To accomplish this goal, DOL is partnering with the Department of Commerce and Education to develop the America’s Skills Strategy.

There has long been a mismatch between the training of workers and the skills required by employers. America’s Talent Strategy aims to change that by meeting the needs of employers and preparing more Americans for access to high-paying jobs. We are restructuring the organization’s workforce plans by investing in private sector training and evolving skills demands and partnering with American businesses committed to hiring new graduates as key pieces of their talent pipelines.

It doesn’t end there. The Department of Labor made incentive payments of $3,500 to participating employers for every registered student employed. Under Trump’s leadership, we are also streamlining the process for potential corporate partners and cutting red tape that discourages organizations from doing similar programs.

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Additionally, we are breaking down the silos that have hindered the way America prepares its workforce. Last year, the DOL signed a historic partnership agreement with the Department of Education. Under this arrangement, the DOL can support and influence a broader set of workforce programs that were previously spread across all federal agencies. That means cutting red tape, reducing bloated bureaucrats and giving more flexibility to states.

All of this has empowered the Department of Labor to add more than 386,000 apprentices and more than 3,300 new Registered Apprenticeship programs since Trump took office last January. Students enjoy an “earn while you learn” model, and those who complete their program can earn a median salary of $86,000 per year – $20,000 more than recent college graduates.

These are important steps to close our nation’s skills gap of nearly 700,000 jobs. But it’s also important because of the lives we impact.

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Brent Davis is one such example. For years, Brent struggled to support his family – until a friend urged him to apply to the Naval Apprenticeship Program in Norfolk, Virginia. Brent was accepted as an apprentice boilermaker, eventually becoming a journeyman at the shipyard and becoming an official Shop 41 Boilermaker. Brent graduated with the brightest marks in his career. Because of her hard work and dedication, she was nominated for the Department of Labor and Industry’s Outstanding Apprenticeship of the Year category.

Last year, Trump issued an executive order titled “Preparing Americans for the High-Paying Trade Jobs of the Future” and set a goal of finding more than one million active learners.

Shane Siler of Wyoming has a similar story. For 15 years, Shane worked in the food industry and worked in excavation and construction. But after becoming a single father, he realized that he needed to pursue a stable and promising career. Shane was attracted to these crafts because it gave him the opportunity to earn a full-time income while still in school. He joined the Registered Apprenticeship Program, and today works as an Industrial and Heavy Commercial Electrician. The Registered Apprenticeship Program empowered Shane to build a better life for himself and his son.

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These stories are exactly what National Apprenticeship Week is all about. Our mission is to equip Americans to find their place in a thriving economy so that testimonials like Brent and Shane’s are the norm – not the exception. Registered Apprenticeships have the potential to strengthen our supply chains, fill skills gaps in industries critical to our national security, and ensure America remains at the forefront of innovation and industry.

Above all, they empower hard-working Americans to achieve the American Dream. That is something really worth celebrating.