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Committee backs bill to expand registered apprenticeship pathways into licensed professions; massage therapy stakeholders ask for extra review
Summary
House Bill 336 would allow registered apprenticeships to serve as an approved pathway to licensure in specified professions. Supporters argued apprenticeships expand access, increase wages and reduce student debt; some massage therapy stakeholders requested their profession be studied further because of trafficking and age-policy concerns.
Representative Curtis Schomer, sponsor of House Bill 336, told the Senate Business and Labor Committee the bill opens apprenticeship as a recognized pathway to licensure for many occupations currently barred from apprenticeship by Montana statute. He described the idea as an expansion of training options: "This bill allows for professional licensures to get apprenticeships," he said, and invited apprenticeship proponents to explain the model.
Commissioner Sarah Swanson (Department of Labor and Industry) presented data the department has compiled on registered apprenticeships: she said apprentices who complete programs are more likely to…
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