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Sonderling Joins Boeing in North Charleston to Announce a Near-Doubling of Registered Apprenticeships

September 15, 2026 · USDepartmentofLabor · 0:01:26

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What happened

Boeing is expanding its registered apprenticeship program in South Carolina, nearly doubling the number of people it can train for high-skill manufacturing jobs, according to the local news report the Labor Department uploaded. Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling was in North Charleston for the announcement as the company builds its workforce for the future, the report said.

Boeing and the Department of Labor announced an agreement to nearly double the company’s registered apprenticeship programs over the next two years, the report said: Boeing currently has about 500 registered apprentices and plans to raise that number to more than 1,000, as the figures were stated. The apprenticeships provide hands-on training for jobs in areas such as structures, composites, electrical and mechanical work, and specialized testing, according to the report.

Sonderling said registered apprenticeships are, in his words, the best and fastest way into the workforce, pointing to the high-skill, high-wage American jobs behind him and noting that many of them do not require a four-year college degree, as he stated it in the report. Boeing said the expansion is also meant to strengthen its worker pipeline in South Carolina and to prompt students to consider manufacturing careers earlier, including while still in high school, according to the report.

Why it matters

The Boeing agreement is the Labor Department’s apprenticeship agenda in concrete form — earn-while-you-learn training scaled at a major manufacturer — and the 500-to-1,000 apprentice target over two years gives the program a measurable yardstick.

Scoreboard watch

Scoreboard watch: Boeing’s commitment, announced with Acting Secretary Sonderling in North Charleston, to grow registered apprentices from about 500 to more than 1,000 over two years — a dated, checkable workforce commitment flagged for the scoreboard editor; no verdict is entered here.

Sources: USDepartmentofLabor, “Secretary Sonderling visits Boeing to celebrate new partnership (CH5)”, 2026-09-15 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-09-15). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.