II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1163 

To amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to provide for strategic 

sectoral skills gap assessments, strategic skills gap action plans, and 

strategic training capacity enhancement seed grants, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 6, 2005 

Ms. CANTWELL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to provide 

for strategic sectoral skills gap assessments, strategic 

skills gap action plans, and strategic training capacity 

enhancement seed grants, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Sectoral Market As5 sessment for Regional Training Enhancement and Revital6 ization Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress makes the following findings: 
2 

•S 1163 IS

(1) More than 1 1 ⁄3 of the Nation’s current work2 force lacks the basic skills necessary to succeed in 

3 today’s labor market. 

4 (2) Globalization of the economy is leading to 

5 losses of jobs in key domestic industries, as well as 

6 challenges to competitiveness and productivity in 

7 other domestic industries. 

8 (3) To remain economically vital and competi9 tive, the Nation must invest in generating jobs and 

10 train a workforce skilled enough to contribute pro11 ductively to the United States economy. 

12 (4) Strategic planning that links workforce de13 velopment and economic development, and the tar14 geting of resources to industries that can build 

15 strong regional economies and create jobs with living 

16 wages for workers, need to be priorities for the 

17 workforce investment system. 

18 (5) States and local workforce investment 

19 boards can play lead roles in guiding a more stra20 tegic process for achieving economic growth through 

21 workforce development. 

22 SEC. 3. SKILLS GAP CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT GRANTS. 

23 Subtitle B of title I of the Workforce Investment Act 

24 of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2811 et seq.) is amended— 
3 

•S 1163 IS

1 (1) by redesignating section 137 as section 138; 

2 and 

3 (2) by inserting after section 136 the following: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 137. SKILLS GAP CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT GRANTS. 

5 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 

6 ‘‘(1) to assist States and local boards in better 

7 focusing funds provided under this subtitle on activi8 ties and programs that address labor shortages and 

9 meet the emerging demand for skills in high-quality 

10 jobs in area industries; 

11 ‘‘(2) to enhance the efficiency of the one-stop 

12 delivery systems and providers of training services; 

13 ‘‘(3) to establish and improve partnerships be14 tween local boards, industry sectors, economic devel15 opment agencies, providers of training services (in16 cluding secondary schools, postsecondary educational 

17 institutions, community-based organizations, busi18 ness associations, and providers of joint labor-man19 agement programs), providers of supportive services, 

20 and other related public and private entities; 

21 ‘‘(4) to strengthen integration of workforce de22 velopment strategies and economic development 

23 strategies in States, local areas, and labor markets; 

24 ‘‘(5) to retain vital industries in the local areas 

25 and regions involved, avoid dislocation of workers, 
4 

•S 1163 IS

1 and strengthen the competitiveness of key industries; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(6) to encourage the development of career 

4 ladders and advancement efforts in local industries. 

5 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) CONSORTIUM.—The term ‘consortium’ 

7 means a consortium of local boards, established as 

8 described in subsection (d)(3). 

9 ‘‘(2) REGION.—The term ‘region’ means 2 or 

10 more local areas that comprise a common labor mar11 ket for an industry sector or group of related occu12 pations. 

13 ‘‘(3) TRAINING SERVICES.—The term ‘training 

14 services’ means services described in section 

15 134(d)(4). 

16 ‘‘(c) GRANTS TO STATES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

18 grants to States, to enable the States to assist local 

19 boards and consortia in carrying out the activities 

20 described in subsection (e). 

21 ‘‘(2) FORMULA.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

23 make the grants in accordance with the formula 

24 used to make grants to States under section 
5 

•S 1163 IS

1 132(b)(1)(B) (other than clause (iv)), subject to 

2 subparagraph (B). 

3 ‘‘(B) SMALL STATE MINIMUM ALLOT4 MENT.—The Secretary shall ensure that no 

5 State shall receive an allotment under this 

paragraph for a fiscal year that is less than 1 6 ⁄2

7 of 1 percent of the funds made available to 

8 carry out this section for that fiscal year. 

9 ‘‘(d) GRANTS TO LOCAL BOARDS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives a 

11 grant under subsection (c)— 

12 ‘‘(A) shall use the funds made available 

13 through the grant to make grants to local 

14 boards and consortia to carry out the activities 

15 described in subsection (e); and 

16 ‘‘(B) may use not more than 15 percent of 

17 the funds made available through the grant, at 

18 the election of the State, to prepare strategic 

19 sectoral skills gap assessments, as described in 

20 subsection (e)(2), in the local areas or regions 

21 involved, or to provide technical assistance to 

22 local boards, consortia, or partnerships de23 scribed in subsection (e)(3). 
6 

•S 1163 IS

1 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION.—In making the grants, 

2 the State may take into account the size of the 

3 workforce in each local area or region. 

4 ‘‘(3) CONSORTIA.—States shall encourage local 

5 boards to aggregate, to the maximum extent prac6 ticable, into consortia representing regions, for pur7 poses of carrying out activities described in sub8 section (e). Nothing in this paragraph shall be con9 strued to require local boards to aggregate into such 

10 consortia. 

11 ‘‘(4) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a 

12 grant under this section, a local board or consortium 

13 shall submit an application to the State, at such 

14 time and in such manner as the State may require, 

15 containing— 

16 ‘‘(A) information identifying the members 

17 of the partnership described in subsection (e)(3) 

18 that will carry out the activities described in 

19 subsection (e); and 

20 ‘‘(B) an assurance that the board or con21 sortium will use, or ensure that the partnership 

22 uses, the funds to carry out the activities de23 scribed in subsection (e). 

24 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.— 
7 

•S 1163 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A local board or consor2 tium that receives a grant under this section— 

3 ‘‘(A) shall ensure that the partnership de4 scribed in paragraph (3) uses the funds made 

5 available through the grant to— 

6 ‘‘(i) prepare a strategic sectoral skills 

7 gap assessment, as described in paragraph 

8 (2), unless the State elects to prepare the 

9 assessment; 

10 ‘‘(ii) develop a strategic skills gap ac11 tion plan, as described in paragraph (4); 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(iii) provide strategic training capac14 ity enhancement seed grants to providers 

15 of training services specified in subsection 

16 (a)(3), one-stop operators, and other ap17 propriate intermediaries, as described in 

18 paragraph (5); and 

19 ‘‘(B) may use funds made available 

20 through the grant to ensure that activities car21 ried out under this subtitle are carried out in 

22 accordance with the strategic skills gap action 

23 plan. 

24 ‘‘(2) STRATEGIC SECTORAL SKILLS GAP ASSESS25 MENT.— 
8 

•S 1163 IS

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (E), the local board or consor3 tium (or, at the election of the State, that 

4 State) shall prepare a strategic sectoral skills 

5 gap assessment, which shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) identify areas of current and ex7 pected demand for labor and skills in a 

8 specific industry sector or group of related 

9 occupations that is— 

10 ‘‘(I) producing high-quality jobs 

11 in the local area or region involved; 

12 ‘‘(II) developing emerging jobs in 

13 that area or region; or 

14 ‘‘(III) suffering chronic worker 

15 shortages; 

16 ‘‘(ii) identify the current and expected 

17 supply of labor and skills in that sector or 

18 group in the local area or region; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) identify gaps between the cur20 rent and expected demand and supply of 

21 labor and skills in that sector or group in 

22 the local area or region. 

23 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC CONTENTS.—The assess24 ment shall contain data regarding— 
9 

•S 1163 IS

1 ‘‘(i)(I) specific high-quality employ2 ment opportunities offered by industries in 

3 the local area or region; and 

4 ‘‘(II) specific skills desired for such 

5 opportunities; 

6 ‘‘(ii)(I) occupations and positions in 

7 the local area or region that are difficult to 

8 fill; and 

9 ‘‘(II) specific skills desired for such 

10 occupations and positions; 

11 ‘‘(iii)(I) areas of growth and decline 

12 among industries and occupations in the 

13 local area or region; and 

14 ‘‘(II) specific skills desired for such 

15 growth areas; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) specific inventories of skills of 

17 unemployed or underemployed individuals 

18 in the local area or region. 

19 ‘‘(C) INFORMATION.—The assessment shall 

20 contain current (as of the date of preparation 

21 of the assessment) information including spe22 cific information from multiple employers in the 

23 sector or group described in subparagraph 

24 (A)(i), labor organizations, and others con25 nected to the businesses and workers in that 
10 

•S 1163 IS

1 sector or group, to illuminate local needs of 

2 both employers and workers. To the maximum 

3 extent possible, the information shall be regu4 larly updated information. 

5 ‘‘(D) SURVEY.—The assessment shall con6 tain the results of a survey or focus group 

7 interviews of employers and labor organizations 

8 and other relevant individuals and organizations 

9 in the local area or region. 

10 ‘‘(E) EXCEPTION.— 

11 ‘‘(i) STATE.—A State shall not be re12 quired to use the funds made available 

13 through a grant received under this sec14 tion, to prepare an assessment described in 

15 this paragraph. 

16 ‘‘(ii) LOCAL BOARD OR CONSOR17 TIUM.—A local board or consortium shall 

18 not be required to use the funds made 

19 available through a grant received under 

20 this section, to prepare an assessment de21 scribed in this paragraph, if the local 

22 board or consortium demonstrates that, 

23 within the 2 years prior to receiving the 

24 grant, an assessment that meets the re-
11 

•S 1163 IS

1 quirements of this paragraph has been pre2 pared for the local area or region involved. 

3 ‘‘(3) SKILLS PARTNERSHIP.—In carrying out 

4 this section, local boards and consortia shall enter 

5 into partnerships that include— 

6 ‘‘(A) representatives of the local boards for 

7 the local area or region involved; 

8 ‘‘(B) representatives of multiple employers 

9 for a specific industry sector or group of related 

10 occupations, and related sectors or occupations, 

11 identified through the assessment described in 

12 paragraph (2) as having identified gaps between 

13 the current and expected demand and supply of 

14 labor and skills in the industry sector or group 

15 of related occupations in the local area or re16 gion involved; 

17 ‘‘(C) representatives of economic develop18 ment agencies for the local area or region; 

19 ‘‘(D) representatives of providers of train20 ing services described in subsection (a)(3) in 

21 the local area or region; 

22 ‘‘(E) representatives nominated by State 

23 labor federations or local labor federations; and 
12 

•S 1163 IS

1 ‘‘(F) other entities that can provide needed 

2 supportive services tailored to the needs of 

3 workers in the sector or group. 

4 ‘‘(4) STRATEGIC SKILLS GAP ACTION PLAN.— 

5 The partnership shall develop a strategic skills gap 

6 action plan, based on the assessment, that— 

7 ‘‘(A)(i) identifies specific barriers to ade8 quate supply of labor and skills in demand in 

9 a specific industry sector or group of related oc10 cupations that is producing high-quality jobs in 

11 the local area or region involved; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) identifies activities (which may in13 clude the provision of needed supportive serv14 ices) that will remove or alleviate the barriers 

15 described in clause (i) that could be undertaken 

16 by one-stop operators and providers of training 

17 services described in subsection (a)(3); 

18 ‘‘(B) specifies how the local board (or con19 sortium) and economic development agencies in 

20 the partnership will integrate the board’s or 

21 consortium’s workforce development strategies 

22 with local or regional economic development 

23 strategies in that sector or group; and 

24 ‘‘(C) identifies resources and strategies 

25 that will be used in the local area or region to 
13 

•S 1163 IS

1 address the skill gaps for both unemployed and 

2 incumbent workers in that sector or group. 

3 ‘‘(5) STRATEGIC TRAINING CAPACITY ENHANCE4 MENT SEED GRANTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The local board or 

6 consortium, after consultation with the partner7 ship, shall make grants to providers of training 

8 services described in subsection (a)(3), one-stop 

9 operators, and other appropriate intermediaries 

10 to pay for the Federal share of the cost of— 

11 ‘‘(i) developing curricula to meet 

12 needs identified in the assessment de13 scribed in paragraph (2) and to overcome 

14 barriers identified in the plan described in 

15 paragraph (4); 

16 ‘‘(ii) modifying the programs of train17 ing services offered by the providers in 

18 order to meet those needs and overcome 

19 those barriers; 

20 ‘‘(iii) operating pilot training efforts 

21 that demonstrate new curricula, or modi22 fications to curricula, described in clause 

23 (i); 
14 

•S 1163 IS

1 ‘‘(iv) expanding capacity of providers 

2 of training services in sectors or groups de3 scribed in paragraph (2)(A)(i); 

4 ‘‘(v) reorganizing service delivery sys5 tems to better serve the needs of employers 

6 and workers in the sectors or groups; or 

7 ‘‘(vi) developing business services to 

8 ensure retention and greater competitive9 ness of the sectors or groups. 

10 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share 

12 of the cost described in subparagraph (A) 

13 shall be 75 percent. 

14 ‘‘(ii) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The 

15 non-Federal share of the cost may be pro16 vided in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, 

17 including plant, equipment, or services.’’. 

18 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 Section 138 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 

20 (29 U.S.C. 2872), as redesignated by section 3(1), is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(d) SKILLS GAP CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT

23 GRANTS.—In addition to any amounts authorized to be 

24 appropriated under subsection (a), (b), or (c), there are 

25 authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 137 
15 

•S 1163 IS

1 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2006 

2 through 2009.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

4 (a) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

5 section 1(b) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 is 

6 amended by striking the item relating to section 137 and 

7 inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 137. Skills gap capacity enhancement grants 

‘‘Sec. 138. Authorization of appropriations’’. 

8 (b) REFERENCES TO AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO9 PRIATIONS.— 

10 (1) YOUTH ACTIVITIES.—Subsections (a) and 

11 (b)(1) of section 127 of the Workforce Investment 

12 Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2852) are amended by strik13 ing ‘‘section 137(a)’’ each place it appears and in14 serting ‘‘section 138(a)’’. 

15 (2) ADULT EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING AC16 TIVITIES.—Section 132(a)(1) of the Workforce In17 vestment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2862(a)(1)) is 

18 amended by striking ‘‘section 137(b)’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘section 138(b)’’. 

20 (3) DISLOCATED WORKER EMPLOYMENT AND

21 TRAINING ACTIVITIES.—Subsections (a)(2) and 

22 (b)(2)(A)(i) of section 132 of the Workforce Invest23 ment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2862) are amended by 
16 

•S 1163 IS

1 striking ‘‘section 137(c)’’ each place it appears and 

2 inserting ‘‘section 138(c)’’. 

Æ