Committee hears bill to recognize Department of Labor apprenticeships for National Guard members

Members of a Michigan House committee heard testimony on legislation that would allow Michigan National Guard and Air National Guard members to receive Department of Labor (DOL) registered-apprenticeship credentials that are portable to civilian employers.

Supporters said the DOL certificate is the same credential recognized across states and industries, and that veterans and Guard members who complete apprenticeship training would be able to show employers a transferrable credential. “This is Department of Labor registered apprenticeship training the same as I did through my apprenticeship,” testified Rick Donovan of the Polish Legion of American Veterans. “If National Guard and the Air National Guard members go through this apprenticeship, what they would, in essence, have is the same completion certificate that I received.”

Proponents told the committee the program was reintroduced after an earlier version that had been proposed for placement under the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) was not accepted by that agency last term. The sponsor and other committee members said the legislation fits better administratively under the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) because LEO already administers workforce development, state apprenticeship expansion, veterans employment services and related IT and credentialing infrastructure.

Committee members and witnesses discussed how the credits or credentials would transfer into community-college credit and civilian certifications. Testimony noted the Community College of the Air Force and other accredited programs can translate military training into academic credit, but that not every service pathway includes an automatic degree. Donovan described using a DOL certificate and then completing general-education classes to obtain an associate degree from Macomb Community College.

Lawmakers also raised funding and implementation questions. Representative Whitworth said the bill does not make clear how the program would be paid for while the Legislature is completing the budget. Witnesses and the sponsor provided rough cost estimates but said details require appropriation action: testimony referenced initial setup costs in the low millions — testimony cited figures around $1.0 million to $1.5 million for software and related start-up costs, and said it was not specified in the bill whether those would be one-time or ongoing expenses. Committee members asked whether the bill would require promulgation of administrative rules; supporters said the substitute removes rulemaking because the bill text already specifies procedures and that existing LEO processes and software would handle credit tracking.

The hearing included supporters and at least one organization listed as not wishing to speak. No final committee vote on this specific apprenticeship bill is recorded in the provided transcript excerpt.

The committee did not finalize budget or appropriation details during the hearing; proponents and lawmakers indicated those items will need to be resolved in the appropriations process before the program could be implemented.