The PAYA Grant Initiative: Top 5 Most Frequently Asked Questions

The Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA) Grant Initiative seeks applicants from partnerships in states, regions and cities to expand participation in high-quality youth apprenticeship programs and improve outcomes for students, employers, and communities.

With less than a month to go until applications are due on March 8th, we would like to remind potential applicants that there are resources available to address questions related to the application and selection processes. Since the application opened in January, we have answered questions from potential applicants on an informational webinar, and continue to field questions about PAYA, the Grant Initiative, and youth apprenticeship as a model via the Questions page on the application portal.

Five of the most frequently asked questions that we’ve received are below:

Who is the target population?

Participants in youth apprenticeship programs generally range from age 16-24. To be eligible for this grant initiative, programs must be designed to start while apprentices are in high school, per the PAYA definition of high-quality youth apprenticeship.

However, apprenticeship programs that plan to serve high school age youth in addition to serving a broader apprentice population, including out-of-school, disconnected youth or current postsecondary students, are eligible to apply, so long as the programs partner and engage with relevant stakeholders from the K-12 system in program design and delivery to ensure the programs are accessible to students who are enrolled in high school.

Are “wage or employer subsidies” a prohibited use of funds?

Direct wage or employer subsidies are not permitted uses of funds. Grant funds cannot be used to pay or subsidize apprentice wages. Grant funds, however, MAY be used to support staff/FTE costs within the intermediary organization.

To support the objectives of sustainability and scale and to promote broader systems change, we discourage programs from relying on grant funds to support the cost of related instruction or other direct training costs. Instead, grantees should use funds to develop program models that leverage new or existing public or private investment through policy alignment and state or local partnerships.

Is there a minimum number of apprentices that must be served within the grant period?

Because the PAYA grants will support programs that may be at different stages of development, we have not set a minimum number of apprentices that must be served. We encourage applicants to set feasible, ambitious targets for enrollment and/or enrollment growth, based on the current stage/size of their program and their local context. PAYA grantees, as part of the strategy development process, will identify targets for enrollment and/or enrollment growth (among other outcomes) and, with TA provided through the grant opportunity, develop a plan for reaching them.

For the purposes of this grant, partnerships seeking funding to support the launch of a new youth apprenticeship program are not required to place students into paid apprenticeships before October 2020. However, programs at this stage of development will be expected by October 2020 to be ready to begin recruiting students for entry into the program, even if the program will not enroll students until later that academic year.

Are there additional stages of this grant process beyond the initial application?

Yes, this is the initial application stage. In late March, we will contact finalists for in-depth interviews with members of the PAYA National Partnership. Interviews will take place in late-March and early April 2019. Finalists may be asked to submit or share supplementary information, including a budget proposal in line with the appropriate use of funds. Please see more about the selection process and timeline in the Grant Initiative FAQs.

Is this a one-time grant opportunity? Do you anticipate having another funding round?

PAYA is structured to be a multi-year initiative to support high-potential strategies across the country. We aspire to and envision future grant opportunities to be available based on interest and availability of funds, but at this time there are no plans to share related to future funding opportunities.

What if I still have questions?

To learn more about the PAYA Grant Initiative and find answers to other frequently asked questions, we encourage you to read the PAYA Grants FAQ document and watch a recording of the PAYA Grants Initiative Informational Webinar. You can view additional answers and also ask any questions we have not yet answered on the Question page in Screendoor.

To learn more about the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship, its partners and its work, please visit www.newamerica.org/paya.

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