Trump to tout apprenticeships as way to fill jobs gap

[...] Trump and Labor Secretary Alex Acosta say the administration is focused on getting universities and private companies to pair up and pay the cost of such learn-to-earn arrangements.

Many employers and economists — and Republicans and Democrats — welcome the idea of apprenticeships as a way to train people with specific skills for particular jobs that employers say they can't fill at time of historically low unemployment.

[...] the Trump administration, like President Barack Obama's, says there's a need that can be met with a change in the American attitude toward vocational education and apprenticeships.

Students in 60 schools across six states begin in high school, when they get a paid internship, earn an associate's degree and get first-in-line consideration for jobs from 250 participating employers.

Susan Helper, former chief economist at the Commerce Department, said it would likely require more than $90 million a year to cover the administrative costs of increasing the number of apprentices.

Tax breaks might do little to expand the number of apprenticeships, since the major barriers involve the upfront costs of starting an apprenticeship program that helps groups of smaller employers and the community colleges often involved in apprenticeship programs.