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Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program for Apprenticeships

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Published March 16th, 2026
Detected March 27th, 2026
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Summary

The Employment and Training Administration announced the Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program, offering $10M-$40M in cooperative agreements to expand registered apprenticeship programs. The program aims to incentivize growth by offering incentive payments to program sponsors, particularly in targeted industries like Shipbuilding, AI, IT, Healthcare, Transportation, and Telecommunications.

What changed

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has launched the Pay-for-Performance (PfP) Incentive Payments Program, a new initiative to expand and grow the National Apprenticeship System. The program will award up to five cooperative agreements, totaling $10M-$40M, over a four-year performance period. These agreements will incentivize program sponsors through direct payments tied to the enrollment of new apprentices, with a particular focus on rapidly scaling programs in targeted industries such as Shipbuilding and Defense Industrial Base, AI, Semiconductor, and Nuclear Energy Infrastructure, Information Technology, Healthcare, Transportation, and Telecommunications. One agreement will focus on broader industry expansion not covered by the specific targets.

Eligible applicants include educational institutions (private and public), small businesses, for-profit organizations, state governments, and various nonprofit entities. Interested parties should consult the Funding Opportunity Announcement for detailed eligibility requirements and application procedures. Questions can be directed to PfP_FOA-ETA-26-19@dol.gov. Applicants are encouraged to use the Grants.gov subscription option for updates. While the document outlines the program and its goals, specific compliance deadlines for applications are not detailed in this announcement, but the 'Last Updated' date suggests the opportunity is active.

What to do next

  1. Review the Funding Opportunity Announcement for specific eligibility requirements and application procedures.
  2. Register for updates on Grants.gov for this FOA.
  3. Contact PfP_FOA-ETA-26-19@dol.gov with any questions.

Source document (simplified)

Pay-for-Performance (PfP) Incentive Payments Program

Agency: Employment and Training Administration

Assistance Listings: 17.285 -- Registered Apprenticeship

Last Updated: March 16, 2026 View version history on Grants.gov

Description

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 Department will award up to four (4) cooperative agreements with a focus on rapid expansion of Registered Apprenticeship in targeted industries by offering incentive payments to program sponsors on a per apprentice basis for all new apprentices enrolled during the term of the cooperative agreement. The designated industries are Shipbuilding and Defense Industrial Base; Artificial Intelligence (AI), Semiconductor, and Nuclear Energy Infrastructure; Information Technology; Healthcare; Transportation; and Telecommunication. The Department is particularly interested in expanding Registered Apprenticeship in Shipbuilding and Defense Industrial Base and intends to make an award for this industry, contingent on receiving a quality application. In addition, the Department plans to award one (1) cooperative agreement that will focus on rapid scaling of the Registered Apprenticeship system by providing incentive funding to program sponsors tied to achieving substantial increases based on the number of cohort apprentices. This cooperative agreement will support expansion of Registered Apprenticeship programs across industries not covered under the specific industries noted above. Questions regarding this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) may be emailed to PfP_FOA-ETA-26-19@dol.gov. We encourage prospective applicants and interested parties to use the Grants.gov subscription option to register for future updates provided for this particular FOA. Show full description

Eligibility

Eligible applicants

Education

  • Private institutions of higher education
  • Public and state institutions of higher education

Business

  • Small businesses
  • For-profit organizations other than small businesses

Government

  • State governments

Miscellaneous

  • Other

Nonprofit

  • Nonprofits non-higher education without 501(c)(3)
  • Nonprofits non-higher education with 501(c)(3)

Additional information

See the Funding Opportunity Announcement for specific eligibility requirements. Eligible applicants may include but are not limited to: State Agencies and Territories; National Industry Groups and Associations; National Labor Management Organizations; National economic development entities; Registered Apprenticeship and Workforce Intermediary Organizations; Professional Consulting Organizations; Consortia led by one or more eligible entities listed above and other relevant entities to achieve the goals and requirements of the PfP Incentive Payments Program. Faith-based organizations are encouraged to apply, as are all organizations. Those that meet the eligibility requirements may receive awards under this funding opportunity. DOL will not, in the selection of recipients and administration of the grant, discriminate on the basis of an organization's religious character, affiliation, exercise, or lack thereof, or on the basis of conduct that would not be considered grounds to favor or disfavor a similarly situated secular organization.

Grantor contact information

Description

Carmen Mew
PfP_FOA-ETA-26-19@dol.gov

Email

PfP_FOA-ETA-26-19@dol.gov

PfP_FOA-ETA-26-19@dol.gov

Documents

Download all
| File name | Description | Last updated |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pay-for-PerformanceIncentivePaymentsProgramFOA-ETA-26-19.pdf | Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program FOA-ETA-26-19.pdf | Feb 13, 2026 04:34 PM UTC |
| APPENDIXB-SuggestedAbstract_Template.docx | APPENDIX B - Suggested Abstract Template -fillable | Feb 13, 2026 04:34 PM UTC |
| FinancialSystemRiskAssessment-fillable_8.17.23.pdf | Financial System Risk Assessment -fillable 8.17.23.pdf | Feb 13, 2026 04:35 PM UTC |
| Pay-for-PerformanceIncentivePaymentsProgramFOA-ETA-26-19Amendment1_.pdf | Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program FOA-ETA-26-19 Amendment 1_.pdf | Mar 16, 2026 06:38 PM UTC |

Link to additional information

--

Closing: April 3, 2026

Applications must be submitted electronically no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Time.

Application process

This site is a work in progress. Go to www.grants.gov to apply, track application status, and subscribe to updates. View on Grants.gov

Award

$145,000,000

Program Funding

5

Expected awards

$10,000,000

Award Minimum

$40,000,000

Award Maximum

Funding opportunity number:

FOA-ETA-26-19

Cost sharing or matching requirement:

No Funding instrument type:

Cooperative agreement

Opportunity Category:

Discretionary

Opportunity Category Explanation:

-- Category of Funding Activity:

Employment labor and training

Category Explanation:

--

History

Version:

6

Posted date:

February 13, 2026

Archive date:

--

Named provisions

Description Eligibility

Classification

Agency
ETA
Published
March 16th, 2026
Instrument
Guidance
Legal weight
Non-binding
Stage
Final
Change scope
Substantive
Document ID
Assistance Listings: 17.285

Who this affects

Applies to
Employers Educational institutions Nonprofits Small businesses For-profit organizations other than small businesses State governments
Industry sector
6111 Higher Education 4231 Wholesale Trade 9211 Government & Public Administration 3254 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing 3364 Aerospace & Defense 5170 Telecommunications 6211 Healthcare Providers 4841 Trucking & Logistics 5112 Software & Technology
Activity scope
Apprenticeship Program Expansion Workforce Development
Threshold
Awards of $10M-$40M
Geographic scope
United States US

Taxonomy

Primary area
Employment & Labor
Operational domain
Compliance
Topics
Workforce Development Apprenticeships

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