To amend title 49, United States Code, to expand and improve transit training programs.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Transportation Job Corps Act of 
2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) There are millions of young people ages 16 through 24 
        who are neither in school nor in the labor force.
            (2) According to a report issued by the Community Service 
        Society in June 2008, entitled ``Out of Focus: A Snapshot of 
        Public Funding to Reconnect Youth to Education and 
        Employment'', the young people described in paragraph (1), 
        often referred to as disconnected youth, are largely youth of 
        color from poor communities and at risk of becoming permanently 
        disengaged from the labor market which threatens their ability 
        to break out of the cycle of poverty and contribute to our 
        economy and communities.
            (3) When our young people lack the skills that local 
        industries need and are unable to support themselves, we all 
        bear the financial costs.
            (4) In the coming years, the combination of public 
        transportation industry growth and an aging workforce will 
        produce sizeable new openings in the transit sector.
            (5) There is no pipeline of replacements on the horizon, 
        and the transit industry has been limited in its ability to 
        attract, recruit, and retain employees.
            (6) For the existing workforce, new technology is rapidly 
        changing the way transit agencies function, affecting every 
        sector of the workforce, including executive directors, mid-
        level managers, bus operators, and mechanics, yet relatively 
        few programs exist to provide training to workers so that they 
        can perform their jobs adequately, move up the career ladder, 
        and help the Nation's transit agencies operate at maximum 
        efficiency.

SEC. 3. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.

    (a) Workforce Development Program.--Title 49, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) by striking section 5322; and
            (2) by inserting the following:

``SEC. 5322. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.

    ``(a) Joint Workforce Development Councils.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
        of enactment of the Transportation Job Corps Act of 2008, the 
        Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration shall 
        establish a workforce development council in each of its 10 
        regions.
            ``(2) Composition.--The management of each public transit 
        agency and the labor organization representing the majority of 
        employees at each such transit agency in a region shall select 
        one representative for the council established under paragraph 
        (1). The selected individuals from each transit agency shall 
        elect, by majority vote from among members of such council, a 
        governing board for such region, including a co-chairperson 
        from among the representatives from labor and a co-chairperson 
        from among the representatives from management.
    ``(b) Regional Governing Boards.--
            ``(1) Composition of governing boards.--The governing board 
        for each region shall be composed of not more than 10 members 
        elected by the Council pursuant to subsection (a)(2).
            ``(2) Duties.--The governing board for each region shall--
                    ``(A) identify skills gaps in transit agency 
                maintenance departments and develop programs to train 
                maintenance employees and fixed route and paratransit 
                operators on a regional basis;
                    ``(B) develop programs to address the recruitment 
                and retention of managerial and nonmanagerial 
                employees;
                    ``(C) initiate relationships with nontransportation 
                sector industries, associations, and groups in the 
                public and private sector to develop best practices in 
                training and skills development and determine 
                appropriate ways to collaborate on behalf of 
                disconnected youth;
                    ``(D) conduct research on transit workforce 
                development issues and develop best practices for 
                recruitment, training, and retention of employees;
                    ``(E) conduct research on the extent of labor 
                market disconnection among disconnected youth and 
                assess the provision of employment services for such 
                youth;
                    ``(F) make recommendations to the Secretary and to 
                public transit agencies regarding how to expand current 
                employment training programs, outreach programs to 
                increase minority and female employment in public 
                transportation activities, and apprenticeship programs; 
                and
                    ``(G) develop programs and make recommendations to 
                public transit agencies to address issues related to 
                workplace quality of life issues, including 
                absenteeism, scheduling, child care, and other issues 
                that may be necessary to improve recruitment and 
                retention of employees.
            ``(3) Ex officio members.--
                    ``(A) Possible appointments.--The Administrator may 
                appoint non-voting ex officio members to each regional 
                governing board from among representatives of nonprofit 
                organizations, research organizations, and any other 
                group or individual the Administrator believes would 
                contribute to the board.
                    ``(B) Appointments for international transportation 
                learning center and federal transit administrators.--
                The Administrator shall appoint as a non-voting ex-
                officio member to the regional governing board of the 
                respective region--
                            ``(i) one or more representatives of the 
                        International Transportation Learning Center 
                        which administers the transit career ladder 
                        training program authorized by section 3046 of 
                        the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 
                        Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users 
                        (Public Law 109-59);
                            ``(ii) the Federal Transit Administrators 
                        of each of the 10 regions; and
                            ``(iii) an individual who has expertise in 
                        youth development programs.
    ``(c) Grant Programs.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Administrator and taking into account the recommendations of 
        the governing boards under subsection (a), shall establish 
        grant programs described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) as 
        follows:
                    ``(A) Transit youth opportunity.--
                            ``(i) Basic skills education and pre-
                        apprenticeship skills.--The Administrator shall 
                        accept applications for grants from nonprofit 
                        organizations and public or privately funded 
                        educational institutions providing academic or 
                        technical instruction to encourage and 
                        introduce disconnected youth who are out of 
                        school and not employed for a period of not 
                        less than 6 months to a variety of careers in 
                        the transit industry by providing such youths 
                        with basic skills education, if necessary, and 
                        pre-apprenticeship skills. The Administrator 
                        shall give priority for such grants to 
                        organizations with a proven record of success 
                        in providing disconnected youth with basic 
                        education and pre-apprenticeship skills.
                            ``(ii) Apprenticeships.--The Administrator 
                        shall accept applications from partnerships of 
                        transit agencies and the unions representing 
                        non-managerial employees for grants to develop 
                        labor-management apprenticeship programs for a 
                        variety of transit-related jobs, by giving 
                        priority to individuals who have successfully 
                        completed a pre-apprenticeship program pursuant 
                        to clause (i).
                    ``(B) Transit worker education and retention 
                grants.--The Administrator shall accept applications 
                from partnerships of transit agencies and the unions 
                representing non-managerial employees for grants--
                            ``(i) to develop education programs in a 
                        variety of training settings for transit 
                        employees from diverse population groups to 
                        maintain and improve job skills and advance a 
                        career; and
                            ``(ii) assisting individuals to obtain 
                        education and training required to enter the 
                        transit profession and advance within such 
                        profession, such as by providing career 
                        counseling and mentoring.
                    ``(C) Workforce diversity grants.--The 
                Administrator shall accept applications from 
                partnerships of transit agencies and the unions 
                representing non-managerial employees for a grant to 
                develop special projects to increase education 
                opportunities within the transit industry for 
                individuals who are from disadvantaged backgrounds, 
                including racial and ethnic minorities under-
                represented among transit management, by providing 
                student scholarships or stipends, pre-entry 
                preparation, and retention activities.
            ``(2) Funding.--In addition to the amounts set forth in 
        section 5315(d), there are authorized to be appropriated--
                    ``(A) to carry out subsections (a) and (b) 
                $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2011; 
                and
                    ``(B) to carry out subsection (c) $90,000,000 for 
                each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011.
            ``(3) Grant requirements.--A grant under this section shall 
        be subject to all requirements of a grant under section 5307.
    ``(d) Certification.--The Administrator shall develop a category on 
`Workforce Development' on its annual Certifications and Assurances for 
Federal Transit Administration Assistance Programs in accordance with 
section 5323(n), and include such category as one of the areas of 
certification beginning in fiscal year 2010. Such category shall 
require transit agencies to develop short-range and long-range planning 
with regard to workforce development matters, with a particular focus 
on the recruitment, retention, and training of managerial and non-
managerial employees.
    ``(e) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`disconnected youth' means individuals ages 16 through 24 who are out 
of school and not employed and composed primarily of youth of color 
from poor communities and at risk of becoming permanently disengaged 
from the labor market which threatens their ability to break out of the 
cycle of poverty and contribute to our economy and communities.''.

Summary: Transportation Job Corps Act of 2008 - Requires the Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to establish workforce development councils and governing boards in each of its ten regions. Replaces the current discretionary grant and contract programs addressing human resource needs as they apply to public transportation activities. Directs the Secretary of Transportation, acting through the Administrator, to establish programs for the award of grants to: (1) nonprofit organizations and educational institutions to introduce disconnected youth to careers in the transit industry by providing them with basic skills education and pre-apprenticeship skills. (2) partnerships of transit agencies and unions representing non-managerial employees to develop education programs to improve job skills of transit employees and to provide education and training to assist individuals to enter the transit profession. And (3) the same or similar partnerships to develop special projects to increase education opportunities for disadvantaged transit industry individuals, including racial and ethnic minorities underrepresented in transit management, by providing student scholarships, pre-entry preparation, and retention activities.