--- title: Job Training Initiative Announced by Barack Obama description: The administration is asking more colleges to partner with businesses and industries to prepare students with the skills businesses are looking for in potential employees. The investments include a $100 million expansion of apprenticeship programs canonical: https://time.com/65635/obama-job-training-initiative/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-16T21:31:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T07:20:38.552Z article:section: Politics og:title: Job Training Initiative Announced by Barack Obama og:description: The administration is asking more colleges to partner with businesses and industries to prepare students with the skills businesses are looking for in potential employees. The investments include a $100 million expansion of apprenticeship programs og:url: https://time.com/65635/obama-job-training-initiative/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte99a6a523d026273/69868b0406f2c138a532e6ec/485124011.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4008 og:image:height: 2255 og:image:alt: Obama And Biden Discuss Job Skills Training In Pennsylvania og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Job Training Initiative Announced by Barack Obama twitter:description: The administration is asking more colleges to partner with businesses and industries to prepare students with the skills businesses are looking for in potential employees. The investments include a $100 million expansion of apprenticeship programs twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte99a6a523d026273/69868b0406f2c138a532e6ec/485124011.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama's $600 Million Plan to Help You Get a (Better) Job > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Apr 16, 2014 9:31 PM UTC  President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden speak to guests at the Community College of Allegheny County on April 16, 2014 in Oakdale, Pa. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden speak to guests at the Community College of Allegheny County on April 16, 2014 in Oakdale, Pa. Jeff Swensen—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Apr 16, 2014 9:31 PM UTC In a joint appearance at a community college in Pennsylvania Wednesday, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden announced $600 million in investments in job training programs. The investments are a part of the Administration’s ongoing efforts to follow through on Obama’s agenda without Congress’ help by redirecting existing funds to job training efforts. The administration is asking more colleges to partner with businesses and industries to prepare students with the skills businesses are looking for in potential employees. Obama said Wednesday the Labor Department is offering $500 million worth of grants to community colleges with these types of programs as a part of an existing Trade Adjustment Assistance and Community College and Career Training competitive grant program, which has previously rewarded schools that connect out-of-work Americans with jobs in regional economies. Obama also touted a $100 million expansion of apprenticeship programs, which the administration calls a proven path to employment and entry into the middle class. About 87% of apprentices are employed upon completion, and the average starting wage is around $50,000. “The bottom line is if you’re willing the work to get a promotion or get a job America’s job training programs should be working to give you a chance,” Obama said. The goal, Obama says is to provide more good paying jobs and ensure employees have the training necessary to obtain them as a part of his four-part opportunity agenda. The President also called on Congress to invest in ready-to-work programs that support better training, though he noted the work he’s doing can be done without their help. Obama has called on Vice President Biden to lead the effort to improve American job-training. Biden said Wednesday he’s working to help more Americans find work industries that have been expanding in the aftermath of the recession so that more can ascend to the middle class. The President and Vice President appeared at the Community College of Allegheny County’s West Hills Center, which Obama said is representative of the kind of job training the administration is trying to encourage across the country.“We need to take a job-driven approach, that’s what you’ve done in Allegheny County,” Obama said. “The point is real simple; the backbone of this country is a strong and striving middle class,” Biden said. “It’s been the distinguishing feature of our economy for the last 150 years.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/65635/obama-job-training-initiative/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/65635/obama-job-training-initiative/"},"headline":"Obama's $600 Million Plan to Help You Get a (Better) Job","datePublished":"2014-04-16T21:31:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:20:38.552Z","description":"The administration is asking more colleges to partner with businesses and industries to prepare students with the skills businesses are looking for in potential employees. 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