DOL Issues Notice on Process for Enhancing Registered Apprenticeship Initiatives; Comments Due July 3

Published May 03, 2023

​The Department of Labor (DOL) issued an information collection for comments on the process to design and conduct evaluations of DOL-funded apprenticeship initiatives through the Enhancing Registered Apprenticeship Initiatives (ERAI) project. Comments are requested on the data collection instruments including surveys, focus groups, and interview guides that will be used in the evaluations.

The purpose of the ERAI project is three-fold:

  1. Design and conduct analyses that add to the evidence base on apprenticeship strategies and models through an evaluation of the Apprenticeship Building American (ABA) grants.
  2. Conduct an impact and cost-benefit evaluability assessment of pre-registered apprenticeship programs that lead to registered apprenticeship programs (RAPs).
  3. Coordinate across the portfolio of apprenticeship projects at the DOL's Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) and beyond to facilitate sharing of findings, methods, and learning about apprenticeship broadly across research teams.

The DOL is particularly interested in comments that do the following:

  • Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility.
  • Evaluate the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used.
  • Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected.
  • Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology- for example, permitting electronic submission of responses.

Comments are due July 3, 2023.