Iowa Workforce Development announced the expansion in scope of a $6.175 million construction trades apprenticeship program. The Iowa Construction Trades Apprenticeship Job Driven National Emergency Grant, originally approved by the U.S. Department of Labor for six of the of state’s 15 regions, has been expanded to include all 15 Workforce Investment Act /Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act regions within the construction trades. Additionally, the Labor Department granted approval for IWD to broaden the scope of the grant to include all 152 currently approved apprenticeship trades in the state. IWD Director Beth Townsend praised the expansion of the apprenticeship programs. “Recent roundtable discussions around filling the middle-skill and high-skill job openings are revealing that collectively, we need to embrace apprenticeships in manufacturing, as well as information technology, STEM and health-related fields.”