July 14th, 2026Heinrich Introduces Bill to Expand Pre-Apprenticeship Programs

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) reintroduced his Pre-Apprenticeships To Hardhats (PATH) Act, legislation to strengthen the pipeline for careers in New Mexico and nationwide, address workforce shortages, and grow the economy through quality pre-apprenticeship programs. Pre-apprenticeship programs are a proven way to build the skilled workforce needed to meet industry demand. They equip participants with foundational literacy and math skills, workplace readiness, and hands-on training that can be tailored to the needs of students, employers, and local labor markets. “My Pre-Apprenticeships to Hardhats Act will help workers gain the skills and training they need to succeed in high-demand careers they can build their families around. These are the kinds of jobs that allow folks to put food on the table and get ahead,” said Heinrich. “I remain committed to solutions that expand pathways to in-demand jobs, grow our local workforce, and ensure New Mexico has the skilled workers it needs for the future.” Specifically, the PATH Act directs the U.S. Department of Labor to award grants to a broad range of eligible entities, including employers, unions, workforce development boards, community-based organizations, colleges and universities, school districts, state education agencies, small businesses, and veterans’ organizations. Grant recipients would provide pre-apprenticeship training that equips participants with the skills and competencies needed to enter registered apprenticeship programs in the building trades. Funding must be used for training, curriculum development, assessments, and program evaluation. The legislation also requires grantees to prioritize outreach and training opportunities for veterans, women, and low-income communities. In the House, the PATH Act is led by U.S. Representative Donald Norcross (D-N.J.). “Young people need to know that expensive four-year degrees are not the only way to earn a good living and provide value to your community,” said Norcross . “America needs to build more of everything from housing to energy to infrastructure, and pre-apprenticeships are the perfect entry point for the high-paying, fulfilling careers available right now. My own electrical apprenticeship kickstarted a life I’m extremely proud of and serves as my inspiration to create more of those opportunities for today’s workforce, too.” The PATH Act is endorsed by United Association of Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 412 (U.A. Local 412), North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), and SMART Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 49. “North America’s Building Trades Unions understand the training and education pathways required to produce a highly-skilled workforce, and we fully support apprenticeship readiness programs,” said Sean McGarvey, President of North America’s Building Trades Unions. “The efforts in the PATH Act not only open the pipelines of the skilled trades to underserved communities across America, they are essential to securing a strong foundation for America’s middle-class and ensuring national and local economic growth.” “At the United Association Local 412 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, we strongly believe in the investment in pre-apprenticeship as a pathway for young people into apprenticeship and great careers,” said Courtenay Eichhorst, Business Manager, U.A. Local 412, and President of New Mexico Building Trades . “The United States is facing a critical shortage of skilled tradespeople and with important initiatives and projects from federal investments needing the skilled trades workforce, we must provide workforce development to achieve the most out of those investments. Optimizing these investments must include pre-apprenticeship which lead into great paying careers in the skilled trades and economically uplifts our communities, all while improving the infrastructure in our great state and nation. We need to fund pre-apprenticeship programs to carry out these initiatives and build our communities. Pre-apprenticeship is a crucial stepping-stone into registered apprenticeship and provides a ‘pathway out of poverty.’” The full text of the bill is here . Heinrich is a champion of policies to expand opportunities for New Mexico workers and has consistently fought to create good-paying union jobs. Heinrich recently announced that after nearly two decades of his advocacy to complete one of the largest energy infrastructure projects in the Western Hemisphere, the SunZia Project has become fully operational. SunZia includes a 550-mile transmission line spanning New Mexico’s Torrance, Lincoln, and San Miguel Counties. It will deliver up to 3,650 megawatts (MW) of energy and generate an estimated $20.5 billion in economic benefits for New Mexico and the Southwest. The project supported more than 2,000 construction jobs and will create more than 100 permanent jobs as it begins full operations. For a detailed timeline of Heinrich’s actions to build and bring SunZia online, click here . In February 2025, Heinrich introduced his Apprenticeship Pathways Act , legislation to create pathways to high-demand careers for high school students by expanding access to apprenticeships and technical education. Heinrich, a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, also announced $1,350,000 in federal funding that he secured through the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) appropriations process for the United Association of Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 412 (U.A. Local 412). The funding will support specialized journeyman training focused on filling jobs created by the CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act, including needs specific to semiconductor plants, hospitals, and heat pump installation, service, repair, and maintenance. In the same Fiscal Year Appropriations bills, Heinrich secured $1,200,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending for the SMART Local Union No. 49 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee to enhance and expand specialized HVAC apprenticeship training. In October 2024, Heinrich visited U.A. 412’s mobile training unit , which is creating more pathways to in-demand careers in the skilled trades and has already trained dozens of New Mexicans in Española, Taos, Las Vegas, Mora, Raton, and Santa Fe. Heinrich also participated in a training demonstration with U.A. Local 412 leadership and apprentices who are learning skills in the plumbing, pipefitting, and HVAC trades. The U.A. Local 412 Mobile Training Unit was initially paid for by an Economic Development Administration (EDA) Good Jobs Challenge Grant, as part of a $6.4 million award to the Northern N.M. Workforce Integration Network . The Good Jobs Challenge funds were authorized by the American Rescue Plan, the critical economic recovery legislation that Heinrich was proud to pass in 2021. In August 2024, Heinrich announced the Senate Appropriations Committee passage of bills that included an additional $870,000 CDS award that he secured to sustain the U.A. Local 412’s mobile training unit’s operations past the original EDA funding, and to expand its reach to new communities including Grants, Gallup, Silver City, and Zuni Pueblo. In October 2024, Heinrich hosted a “Pro-Worker, Pro-Business Opportunities” roundtable to talk directly with New Mexicans about how federal legislation he helped pass into law, like the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Law, is creating careers in high-demand sectors and strengthening New Mexico’s health care, early childhood education, and skilled trades workforce. In the last Congress, Heinrich introduced the bipartisan Apprenticeship Pathways Act , legislation to create pathways to careers for high school students by expanding access to apprenticeship programs for occupations with high need, including the building trades, healthcare, manufacturing, technology, telecommunications, and early childhood education. Heinrich also convened a hearing , as then-Chairman of the U.S. Joint Economic Committee (JEC), on “Job Training for the Clean Energy Transition.” Courtenay Eichhorst, Business Manager of U.A. Local 412 and President of New Mexico Building Trades, testified at the hearing about the importance of apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships. In March 2024, Heinrich introduced the Providing Resources and Opportunities for Health Education and Learning (PRO-HEAL) Act , legislation that will tackle the health care provider shortage in New Mexico and nationwide by expanding pathways to high-quality, in-demand health care careers that medical professionals can access in their communities. Specifically, the PRO-HEAL Act addresses medical provider shortages by incentivizing states and institutions of higher education to expand or create health care provider pipeline programs, particularly in underserved and rural communities. The legislation is inspired by the success of the Combined BA/MD Degree Program at the University of New Mexico, where over 65% of students who have graduated from their program practice medicine in New Mexico. Heinrich previously introduced the Pathways to Health Careers Act , legislation that reauthorizes and modernizes the Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG) program to help address health care shortages in New Mexico and across the country and create pathways to high-quality, in-demand health care careers. The HPOG program has a proven track record of successfully educating workers for jobs in the health care industry, while also providing career coaching, job placement, and a mix of other support services. The Pathways to Health Careers Act restarts and expands the HPOG Program, providing $425 million to make HPOG available nationwide from FY24 through FY28 and includes set asides for Tribes and U.S. Territories. In 2021, Heinrich and Moran introduced the Championing Apprenticeships for New Careers and Employees in Technology (CHANCE in Tech) Act , bipartisan legislation to create earlier pathways to high-paying careers in the information technology (IT) industry. Heinrich previously introduced the bipartisan legislation in 2019 with former U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R-Colo.). In 2021 and 2022, Heinrich helped pass the Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act , which helped bring manufacturing to Central New Mexico, including companies like Arcosa Wind Towers. Later in 2022, Heinrich also helped pass the CHIPS and Science Act , bipartisan legislation to lower costs, boost domestic manufacturing, strengthen domestic supply chains, and invest in skilled trades and workforce training programs. ###