I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9739 

To amend the National Apprenticeship Act in order to increase and expand 

the national apprenticeship system to include the immediate recruitment, 

employment, and on-the-job earn as you learn training of young African 

Americans, and to promote the development of equitable hiring standards 

necessary to safeguard the diversity of apprentices, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024 

Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia (for himself, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 

MEEKS, Mr. POCAN, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. 

KELLY of Illinois, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. BISHOP

of Georgia, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. MFUME, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, 

Ms. DELBENE, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mrs. 

HAYES, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. EVANS, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. STRICKLAND, and Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the National Apprenticeship Act in order to increase and expand the national apprenticeship system 

to include the immediate recruitment, employment, and 

on-the-job earn as you learn training of young African 

Americans, and to promote the development of equitable 

hiring standards necessary to safeguard the diversity of 

apprentices, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Jobs, On-the-Job 

5 ‘Earn-While-You-Learn’ Training, and Apprenticeships 

6 for Young African-Americans Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) Young African-American men and women 

10 are the hardest hit by economic instability. Declared 

11 and affirmed by the Federal Reserve, African Ameri12 cans face unemployment rates that are two to three 

13 times higher than their White counterparts for the 

14 last several decades. 

15 (2) During economic recessions in 1974 

16 through 1975, 1981 through 1982, 1990 through 

17 1991, and 2008, the African-American community 

18 faced significantly higher unemployment rates than 

19 their White counterparts. 

20 (3) Even during times of economic growth, Af21 rican-American communities experience prolonged fi22 nancial vulnerability and delayed recovery. Unem23 ployment rates decline at a slower rate for African24 American men, and even a slower rate for AfricanVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:55 Oct 15, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9739.IH H9739

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1 American women as compared to their White coun2 terparts. 

3 (4) Affirmed by the Department of Labor, di4 versity and inclusion within the workforce benefits 

5 employees and businesses across all industries, in6 cluding apprenticeship programs, which provide eco7 nomic mobility to its participants. 

8 (5) Through the combined efforts of building 

9 trades unions and community partners at the State 

10 and local level, there have been established more 

11 than 150 apprenticeship readiness programs across 

12 the United States that focus on creating pathways 

13 to Registered Programs for people of color, women, 

14 and veterans. Overall, from 2009 to 2019, building 

15 trades unions and their signatory contractors have 

16 invested over $100,000,000 in outreach efforts tar17 geting under-represented communities to participate 

18 in apprenticeship readiness programs. Of the 4,800 

19 individuals who have successfully completed a build20 ing trades apprenticeship readiness program since 

21 2016, 70 percent were from communities of color 

22 and 22 percent were women. 

23 (6) The disproportionately high-unemployment 

24 rates, combined with low participation rates from 

25 African Americans in registered apprenticeship proVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:55 Oct 15, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9739.IH H9739

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1 grams not only constitute a national crisis but a na2 tional tragedy for the young African Americans, 

3 many of whom are fathers and mothers who, without 

4 jobs, are unable to provide for their families or 

5 home. 

6 SEC. 3. DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ADMINISTRATOR. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established within the 

8 Office of Apprenticeship in the Office of Employment and 

9 Training Administration of the Department of Labor a po10 sition to be known as the ‘‘Diversity and Inclusion Admin11 istrator’’. 

12 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Diversity and Inclusion 

13 Administrator shall— 

14 (1) promote greater diversity, including an in15 crease in the participation of individuals who are Af16 rican American, Hispanic, Asian American or Pacific 

17 Islander, or Native American in the national appren18 ticeship system; 

19 (2) engage with institutions of higher education 

20 and other education and training providers with sec21 ondary, postsecondary, and adult education systems, 

22 including degree and credential requirements; 

23 (3) employers from nontraditional apprentice24 ship industries and occupations; and 


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1 (4) assist State apprenticeship agencies and 

2 sponsors in complying with the requirements of this 

3 Act. 

4 SEC. 4. REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP APPLICATION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Office 

6 of Apprenticeship, acting through the Diversity and Inclu7 sion Administrator, shall require each entity seeking to 

8 register an apprenticeship under the Act of August 16, 

9 1937 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘National Apprentice10 ship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et 

11 seq.) to submit, as a part of the application to register 

12 such apprenticeship, a plan to increase participation of in13 dividuals who are African American. 

14 (b) RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION.—A registered ap15 prenticeship program seeking renewal of such registration 

16 under the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly referred to 

17 as the ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, chap18 ter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.) shall include in the applica19 tion for such registration a plan described in subsection 

20 (a). 

21 SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Diversity and Inclusion Ad23 ministrator, in consultation with the Secretary of Edu24 cation as appropriate, shall award grants on a competitive 


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1 basis to eligible registered entities to create or expand di2 versity in registered apprenticeship programs. 

3 (b) TARGET PROGRAMS.—In issuing grants under 

4 subsection (a), the Diversity and Inclusion Administrator 

5 shall target registered apprenticeship programs in tradi6 tional and nontraditional apprenticeship industries or oc7 cupations, such as for programs demonstrating demand 

8 in construction, welding, electrical engineering, plumbing, 

9 information technology, energy, green jobs, advanced man10 ufacturing, health care, or cybersecurity. 

11 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—A grantee under this section 

12 may use funds— 

13 (1) to establish or expand partnerships with or14 ganizations that provide African-American partici15 pants and other nontraditional program participants 

16 access to financial planning, mentoring, and sup17 portive services that are necessary to enable an indi18 vidual to participate in and complete a program 

19 under the national apprenticeship system; 

20 (2) to conduct outreach and recruitment activi21 ties, including assessments of potential African22 American participants and other nontraditional par23 ticipants for, and enrollment of such participants in, 

24 a program under the national apprenticeship system; 


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1 (3) to conduct outreach, engagement, recruit2 ment, and coordination of activities, for the purpose 

3 of establishing industry or sector partnerships and 

4 opportunities under the national apprenticeship sys5 tem, with— 

6 (A) employers; 

7 (B) industry associations; 

8 (C) labor and labor-management organiza9 tions; 

10 (D) qualified intermediaries; 

11 (E) education and training providers; 

12 (F) State or local workforce agencies; 

13 (G) potential sponsors; 

14 (H) community-based organizations; 

15 (I) communities with high numbers or per16 centages of individuals who are African Amer17 ican and other individuals from populations 

18 that the Secretary determines to be nontradi19 tional apprenticeship populations; 

20 (J) small- and medium-sized businesses; or 

21 (K) rural communities; 

22 (4) to carry out grant requirements, including 

23 program evaluation and reporting requirements; and 


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1 (5) to conduct any activities as described in the 

2 application that would advance the purposes of the 

3 grant. 

4 (d) GRANT RECIPIENT REPORT.—Each recipient of 

5 a grant under this section shall— 

6 (1) submit to the Diversity and Inclusion Ad7 ministrator a report at the conclusion of the grant 

8 period, which shall include— 

9 (A) a description of how the funds received 

10 through the grant were used to increase the 

11 participation of individuals who are African 

12 American, Hispanic, Asian American or Pacific 

13 Islander, or Native American in the program; 

14 (B) the total number of active program 

15 participants; 

16 (C) the total number that obtained unsub17 sidized employment in a field related to the 

18 apprenticeable occupation; 

19 (D) the total number of program partici20 pants that completed the program in which they 

21 were enrolled; 

22 (E) the average time to completion for 

23 each program; 

24 (F) the average cost per participant during 

25 the most recent program year; and 


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1 (G) the percentage of participants who re2 ceived additional support services; and 

3 (2) submit each report under paragraph (1)— 

4 (A) to the registration agency; and 

5 (B) to the Diversity and Inclusion Admin6 istrator. 

7 (e) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—In this section, the 

8 term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 

9 (1) a program sponsor; 

10 (2) a State workforce development board or 

11 State workforce agency, or a local workforce develop12 ment board or local workforce development agency; 

13 (3) an education and training provider, or a 

14 consortium thereof; 

15 (4) if the applicant is in a State with a State 

16 apprenticeship agency, such State apprenticeship 

17 agency; 

18 (5) an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization; 

19 (6) an industry or sector partnership, a group 

20 of employers, a trade association, or a professional 

21 association that sponsors or participates in a pro22 gram under the national apprenticeship system; 

23 (7) a Governor of a State; 

24 (8) a labor organization or joint-labor manage25 ment organization; 


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1 (9) a community organization working in part2 nership with one or more registered apprenticeship 

3 programs; or 

4 (10) a qualified intermediary. 

5 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act, the following: 

7 (1) EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROVIDER.— 

8 The term ‘‘education and training provider’’ 

9 means— 

10 (A) an area career and technical education 

11 school; 

12 (B) an early college high school; 

13 (C) an educational service agency; 

14 (D) a high school; 

15 (E) a local educational agency or State 

16 educational agency; 

17 (F) a Tribal educational agency, Tribally 

18 controlled college or university, or Tribally con19 trolled postsecondary career and technical insti20 tution; 

21 (G) a postsecondary educational institu22 tion; 

23 (H) a minority-serving institution; 


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1 (I) a provider of adult education and lit2 eracy activities under the Adult Education and 

3 Family Literacy Act (29 U.S.C. 3271 et seq.); 

4 (J) a local agency administering plans 

5 under title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 

6 (29 U.S.C. 720 et seq.), other than section 112 

7 or part C of that title (29 U.S.C. 732, 741); 

8 (K) a related instruction provider, includ9 ing a qualified intermediary acting as a related 

10 instruction provider as approved by a registra11 tion agency; 

12 (L) a Job Corps center (as defined in sec13 tion 142 of the Workforce Innovation and Op14 portunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3192)); or 

15 (M) a consortium of entities described in 

16 any of subparagraphs (A) through (L). 

17 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

18 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

19 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High20 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

21 (3) NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM.—The 

22 term ‘‘national apprenticeship system’’ means the 

23 apprenticeship programs, youth apprenticeship pro24 grams, and pre-apprenticeship programs under the 

25 Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly referred to as 


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1 the ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, 

2 chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 

3 (4) NONTRADITIONAL APPRENTICESHIP POPU4 LATION.—The term ‘‘nontraditional apprenticeship 

5 population’’ means a group of individuals (such as 

6 individuals from the same gender, race, or ethnicity), 

7 the members of which comprise fewer than 25 per8 cent of the program participants in an 

9 apprenticeable occupation under the national ap10 prenticeship system. 

11 (5) NONTRADITIONAL APPRENTICESHIP INDUS12 TRY OR OCCUPATION.—The term ‘‘nontraditional ap13 prenticeship industry or occupation’’ refers to an in14 dustry sector or occupation that represents fewer 

15 than 10 percent of apprenticeable occupations or the 

16 programs under the national apprenticeship system. 

17 (6) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 

18 The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ 

19 means an apprenticeship program registered under 

20 the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly referred to 

21 as the ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, 

22 chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 

23 (7) REGISTRATION AGENCY.—The term ‘‘reg24 istration agency’’ means the State Office of ApprenVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:55 Oct 15, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9739.IH H9739

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1 ticeship or State apprenticeship agency in a State 

2 that is responsible for— 

3 (A) approving or denying applications from 

4 sponsors for registration of programs under the 

5 national apprenticeship system in the State or 

6 area covered by the registration agency; and 

7 (B) carrying out the responsibilities of sup8 porting the youth apprenticeship, pre-appren9 ticeship, or apprenticeship programs registered 

10 by the registration agency. 

11 (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean12 ing given such term in section 3 of the Workforce 

13 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102) 

14 and includes each of the outlying areas. 

15 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

16 This Act shall take effect beginning on April 22, 

17 2025. 

18 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec20 retary of Labor to carry out this Act— 

21 (1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; 

22 (2) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; 

23 (3) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; and 

24 (4) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2028. 

Æ 


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