YouthBuild is a U.S. Department of Labor workforce program that funds local, community‑based pre‑apprenticeship projects for “opportunity youth” ages 16–24. Programs help participants earn a high school diploma or equivalent, gain occupational skills (historically in construction plus other in‑demand fields), and move into jobs, postsecondary education, or apprenticeships. It is run at the federal level by the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA), specifically the Office of Workforce Investment’s Division of Youth Services, which awards and oversees YouthBuild grants.
A pre‑apprenticeship is a short, structured education and training program designed to prepare people to meet entry requirements for a Registered Apprenticeship or other employment. It typically combines basic skills, career readiness, and introductory technical training, and may or may not be paid. Unlike a Registered Apprenticeship, a pre‑apprenticeship itself is not registered with the Department of Labor, does not have to meet federal apprenticeship standards, and usually does not guarantee employment or progressive wages, though quality programs are linked to specific Registered Apprenticeship sponsors for preferred or direct entry.
A Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) is a formal, paid training program that is registered with the U.S. Department of Labor or a State Apprenticeship Agency under the National Apprenticeship Act. RAPs must meet federal standards, including paid on‑the‑job learning, related classroom instruction, progressive wage increases, and issuance of a nationally recognized completion credential. Participants typically enter RAPs by being hired by an employer or joint apprenticeship committee that sponsors a registered program and then applying to and being selected for that apprenticeship, often with preference or direct entry for graduates of aligned pre‑apprenticeship programs like YouthBuild.
The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Labor responsible for federal job training, employment services, and labor market information, delivered mainly through state and local workforce systems. For these YouthBuild grants, ETA’s role is to administer the funding opportunity: publish the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), run the competitive grant process, award about 57 grants, and then oversee grantee performance and compliance with requirements such as pre‑apprenticeship services, AI literacy components, and apprenticeship placement targets.
Under the current YouthBuild 2025 Funding Opportunity Announcement, eligible applicants are:
Eligible entities must be able to provide pre‑apprenticeship education, occupational skills training, and employment services to opportunity youth ages 16–24. For this round, applicants that are charter schools or are partnering with educational institutions aligned with the administration’s education priorities receive priority in scoring, but they still must meet the core eligibility above.
The AI literacy requirement means YouthBuild projects must build participants’ basic understanding of artificial intelligence into their academic/education component. The YouthBuild 2025 FOA directs applicants to describe how they will give participants opportunities to develop AI literacy skills—such as understanding what AI is, how it is used in workplaces, its limitations and risks, and how to use common AI tools responsibly. The Department also “encourages” grantees to integrate AI‑related content into occupational skills training (for example, using AI‑enabled software in construction planning, manufacturing, IT, or healthcare) but the minimum requirement is to include AI literacy in the education curriculum.
The new target is an added performance indicator: the percentage of YouthBuild participants who enter a Registered Apprenticeship within one year after exiting the program. According to the YouthBuild 2025 FOA and existing WIOA performance rules, grantees must:
DOL will then aggregate and publish YouthBuild outcomes (including this apprenticeship indicator) in its regular WIOA and ETA performance reporting, but the press release and FOA do not yet specify a numeric percentage target or a separate public reporting format beyond the standard WIOA performance reports.