On December 9, 2025, IEC and the Jobs and Careers Coalition (JCC) asked Congress to prioritize reauthorizing the Workforce Opportunity and Innovation Act (WIOA) in the second session of the 119th Congress.
The letter identified JCC-supported provisions from A Stronger Workforce for America Act (H.R. 655)––legislation which nearly became law at the conclusion of the 118th Congress––and recommended their inclusion in any future WIOA bill.
Of note, WIOA funding has a history of getting stuck in state workforce development boards instead of making it to IEC chapters, contractors, and affiliated organizations used by employers to upskill tomorrow’s electrical construction workforce.
However, WIOA is just one form of federal funding to support workforce development.
Other federal funding sources for workforce development eyed by IEC include $145 million in funding to support a pay-for-performance incentive payments program to further expand the national apprenticeship system, announced January 6, 2026, by the U.S. Department of Labor. The competition for this funding is expected to open in February.
On December 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the availability of $98 million in funding through its YouthBuild Program to support pre-apprenticeships in high-demand industries, including construction. The DOL expects to award 60 grants ranging from $1-$2 million. Applications are due March 2, 2026.
On January 19, 2026, the Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill was released as part of the minibus that Congress passed on February 3 to end this month’s brief government shutdown. Democratic and Republican bill party summaries highlight notable program funding levels for workforce development.
The bill provides a total of $13.7 billion for the U.S. DOL, including $10.4 billion for the DOL’s Employment and Training Administration, which oversees workforce development programs like apprenticeship. Of this ETA funding, $2.9 billion is slated for WIOA State Grants and $285 million to expand registered apprenticeships (equal to the 2025 funding level).
In addition, the bill provides a total of $79 billion for the U.S. Department of Education, including $2.2 billion for Career, Technical and Adult Education. Of this funding, there is $1.5 billion for Career and Technical Education (equal to the 2025 funding level) and $729 million for Adult Education.
The bill’s Joint Explanatory Statement (pages 94 to 177) contains a list of congressional earmarks and directed spending items in the bill, including earmarks for specific apprenticeship programs requested by lawmakers.
In April 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to submit a plan to reach and surpass one million new active apprentices to ensure America’s energy, manufacturing, and AI dominance.
The construction industry’s registered apprenticeship system has about 290,000 active apprentices and graduates about 40,000 apprentices per year, according to DOL data.
The construction industry needs to create a net of 350,000 construction workers in 2026, including IEC’s projection of 80,000 net new electricians.
Last year, the budget reconciliation bill signed into law in July—known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the Working Families Tax Plan—had IEC-supported provisions for workforce development. The law expands the ability of 529 educational savings accounts to cover the costs of workforce development program tuition and materials. It also expands workforce Pell to include short-term workforce training programs like apprenticeships and career and technical education programs affiliated with higher education institutions. An ongoing rulemaking on Workforce Pell will determine its usefulness for the electrical contracting industry.