Public Safety Apprenticeship Program - Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Program (MATP)

In 2024, as part of Governor Moore’s legislative agenda, the Maryland General Assembly passed SB 470, “Growing Apprenticeships and the Public Safety Workforce (GAPS) Act,” which amended Labor and Employment Article 11-603 to alter the previous program and, among other items, establish the Public Safety Apprenticeship Program.

The purpose of the program is to:

1. Provide individuals with opportunities to begin a public safety career;
2. Foster positive relationships between the public, particularly young individuals, and public safety agencies;
3. Develop a cohort of individuals qualified to join a public safety agency;
4. Encourage public safety agencies to hire apprentices; and,
5. Help public safety agencies offset additional costs, if any, associated with hiring apprentices.

MD Labor’s Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning (DWDAL) is responsible for administration of the Program, which consists of two different grant opportunities:

1. Start-Up Grants – Two-year grant projects designed to support the development and creation of Public Safety Registered Apprenticeships. Grants are capped at $200,000; and
2. Stabilization Grants – Reimbursement to help offset the costs associated with training Registered Apprentices. Grants are up to $5,000 per Registered Apprentice.

View the Start-Up grants application
View the Stabilization grants application
Public Safety Apprenticeship Program policy