Moore touts MD apprenticeship progress surpassing 2025 goal

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Maryland’s chief executive announced Monday that he surpassed his target for the state’s apprenticeship offerings, enabling more than 500 businesses and institutions to recruit 5,200 new apprentices in 2025.

“Apprenticeships are one of Maryland’s most powerful tools for building pathways to good jobs and family-sustaining wages,” Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, said in a statement. “A year after launching this pledge, we are seeing how partnership between employers, educators, labor, and state agencies can create real opportunity for every Marylander and strengthen the foundation of our economy.”

Moore’s statement references the Governor’s Apprenticeship Pledge, which his administration kicked off in late 2024. The program, in partnership with the state’s Department of Labor and the Governor’s Workforce Development Board, sought to encourage 500 Maryland business owners to expand access to registered apprenticeships. It ultimately aimed to recruit 5,000 newly registered apprentices into programs with on-the-job training and credentials certification.

According to a Monday news release, the administration surpassed all of its first-year goals by securing apprentice partnerships with more than 500 employers — including five state agencies and 17 regional, city-, and county-level public sector employers.

Apprenticeship offerings ranged from traditional occupations to blossoming industries, like the health specialist apprenticeship program started by the Department of Health, the Maryland Professional Employees Council and Morgan State University.

Private sector employers, like Royal Farms and AstraZeneca, also took Moore’s pledge.

“Signing the Apprenticeship Pledge reflects our commitment to strengthening Maryland’s workforce,” said Brian Stamper, a member of the Governor’s Workforce Development Board and the executive director and general manager of cell therapy operations at AstraZeneca. “We’re proud to support our apprentices as they grow and build rewarding careers in the local life sciences sector.”

Moore also aspired to recruit at least 5,000 newly registered apprentices in 2025, and surpassed that goal by approximately 200. 

Over 14,000 Maryland residents participated in apprenticeships in 2025, which is a record for the state.

“Through apprenticeship, we’re giving both workers and employers what they need to thrive: hands-on learning that leads to successful careers and a workforce prepared for the future,” said Portia Wu, the secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor. “It’s exciting to see employers of all kinds discover the power of apprenticeship—in the public and private sector and across an ever-growing range of fields.”