White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer opened the briefing up by noting Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Office of American Innovation Director Reed Cordish, and White House Adviser Ivanka Trump all played a role in developing the plan, as well. The following are Acosta's comments about the program:

As you know by now, the president will be making an important announcement regarding apprenticeships this week. He'll be visiting the Department of Labor on Wednesday.
 
There are currently 6 million job openings in the United States—vacant jobs that can be filled. This is the highest number of job vacancies ever. A Business Roundtable survey released just last week found that 95 percent of executives reported problems finding qualified workers. Americans want to work. American companies want to hire. The issue is a mismatch between available jobs and prospective employees' job skills.
 
This skills gap is a particular challenge in some of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy—health care and information technology. And it also persists in some of the more traditional sectors of the economy. There are currently 360,000 job vacancies in manufacturing. There are 200,000 job vacancies in construction. And with the upcoming plans for infrastructure, those job vacancies in construction are only going to increase.
 
Apprenticeships teach skills needed to bridge this skills gap. An apprenticeship combines a paid work component with an educational component. Apprentices earn while they learn, and in the process, they largely avoid the substantial student debt that you see with higher education today.
 
The most obvious benefit of apprenticeships is a good job. Individuals who complete apprenticeship programs have an average starting salary of about $60,000 a year. Nine out of 10 are employed upon completion of the programs. Both the starting salary and the employment rate are higher than that of traditional college graduates. (Photo: George Oliver, student apprentice/CantonJATC.org)
 
Apprenticeships are also going to increase to labor productivity. Apprentices hit the ground running. When they start a job, they're more able, more productive, and tend to be more loyal to the employer. Despite these benefits, apprenticeships make only about 3 percent of the American workforce. This administration will expand apprentices across most, if not all, industries.
 
Higher education, too, should assume responsibility for promoting apprenticeships. Community colleges and four-year colleges have an obligation to work with students to educate them in skills they need to succeed. Demand-driven, experience-based education is not new. It's used to some extent in the healthcare sector. Demand-driven, experience-based education can be improved and it can be used in a wide variety of sectors to further expand the workforce. Incorporating apprenticeships into two- and four-year degree programs would offer students both traditional learning and skills-based learning.
 
And this is particularly important for those students who learn better by doing. President Trump has seen firsthand the success of apprenticeship programs in the building trades where he's very familiar. The building trades invest nearly a billion a year of private money into the apprenticeship program. President Trump has made clear his commitment to expand job opportunities here in America. Apprenticeships are one very important way that President Trump will fulfill that promise.
 
And again, I'm very excited to work with Ivanka Trump and Reed Cordish in the Office of American Innovation as this program goes forward.
 
Click here to watch a video wherein Acosta took questions from the press.

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

New Discoveries in Last Supper Room: Inscriptions Hidden in Walls of Biblical Site on Mount Zion

Gov Newsom Joins Trump in Seeking Federal Charges against Illegal in Fatal DUI Crash That Left Teen Couple Dead

Trump Tariff Support Surges among Small Business Owners

Trump Signs Order to Boost Deep-Sea Mining, Seeking to Break China's Critical Minerals Dominance

Tulsi Gabbard Gives the Deep State the Boot

Court Strikes Down Illinois Law Forcing Pro-Life Ministries to Promote Abortion, But Upholds Abortion Referral Mandate

Professor Who Boldly Spoke Out against Trans Mutilation of Children Wins Long Court Battle with University that Fired Him

Minnesota Heads Off 'Mass Casualty Attack' Planned for 'the Next 24 Hours'

'It Just Ignited': Pastor Says Revival Is Breaking Out in His California Church [Video]

Two Minutes of Silence for the Six Million Victims of the Holocaust

President Trump Notches Key Victory against Taxpayers' Dollars Funding Illegals across the Country

Stephen Miller to Hannity: Democrats Have Become the 'Party of Terrorists and Illegal Aliens' [Watch]

Undercover Sting Exposes Secret Network that Hides Kids for Trans Treatments, Strips 'Transphobic' Parents of Custody [WATCH]

Department of Education Spokeswoman: We 'Will Not Tolerate' States Using Gender Ideology to Strip Parental Rights

DOT Secretary Duffy Warns Blue States: Comply with Trump Orders or Lose Transportation Funding

President Trump 'Not Happy' with Russian Strikes on Kyiv: 'Vladimir STOP!'

UK to Send 'Sun-Dimming' Aerosol Injections into the Atmosphere for 'Climate Change'

HUD Secretary Scott Turner Tackling Homelessness With Heart, Hope, and Biblical Values

Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro Says Trump Called Him About Arson Attack: 'I Appreciated That The President Called Me'

GLOBALISTS IN TURMOIL: World Economic Forum Opens Probe into Founder after Klaus Schwab Resigns