Ford’s Apprenticeship Program: Building Skills for the Future Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa has launched an apprenticeship programme aimed at addressing the shortage of technical skills in …

Legislature allows specialty electricians to work while enrolled in journey level apprenticeships.

Contractors must meet recent compliance and training standards to bid on public works projects.

Unions and contractor groups agreed apprenticeship training matters but diverged on mandatory registered‑apprentice requirements and apprentice‑to‑journeyperson ratios in public works bidding rules.

Fairfax County Workforce Development and Fairfax County Public Schools’ ACE outlined apprenticeship structures, scholarship awards and an application window running June 15–Aug. 15; presenters stressed hybrid classes, employer sponsorships, and that classes are open to nonresidents and require no background checks for scholarship eligibility.

Oregon enacts HB 3968 for apprentices in surgical technology requiring direct supervision.

HB270 would require employers on certain public-works contracts to contribute to an apprenticeship training fund, with an exception where no approved apprenticeship exists. Industry witnesses said the measure would raise road project costs and duplicate existing contractor programs; a motion to table tied and failed, leaving the bill in committee.