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Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program

February 13, 2026

the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a funding opportunity of up to $145 million for organizations interested in administering its Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program to further expand the national apprenticeship system.

The Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program will focus on incentivizing the expansion and growth of the National Apprenticeship System, specifically in industries with a firmly established program infrastructure that will make a significant contribution to the Administration’s goal of exceeding 1 million active apprentices. The Department plans to award up to five (5) cooperative agreements with a four-year period of performance (PoP) focused on rapidly scaling and expanding newly developed Registered Apprenticeship programs and substantially growing existing programs across industries by offering incentive payments to program sponsors.

The designated industries are Shipbuilding and Defense Industrial Base; Artificial Intelligence (AI), Semiconductor, and Nuclear Energy Infrastructure; Information Technology; Healthcare; Transportation; and Telecommunication.

Eligible entities include institutions of higher education (public and private), businesses, nonprofits and state governments.

Applications must be submitted electronically no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Time on April 3, 2026.

On approximately February 20, 2026, a pre-recorded Prospective Applicant Webcast will be available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/grants/apply/find-opportunities and available for viewing any time after that date. While review of this Webcast is strongly encouraged to support successful grant applications, it is not mandatory.”