II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1226 

To promote industry growth and competitiveness and to improve worker 

training, retention, and advancement, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 26, 2013 

Mr. BROWN (for himself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To promote industry growth and competitiveness and to improve worker training, retention, and advancement, 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 ‘‘Strengthening Employ5 ment Clusters To Organize Regional Success Act of 2013’’ 

6 or the ‘‘SECTORS Act of 2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INDUSTRY OR SECTOR PARTNERSHIP GRANT. 

2 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subtitle D of title I of the Work3 force Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2911 et seq.) 

4 is amended by inserting after section 171 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 171A. INDUSTRY OR SECTOR PARTNERSHIP GRANT 

6 PROGRAM. 

7 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 

8 promote industry or sector partnerships that lead collabo9 rative planning, resource alignment, and training efforts 

10 across multiple firms for a range of workers employed or 

11 potentially employed by a targeted industry cluster, in 

12 order to encourage industry growth and competitiveness 

13 and to improve worker training, retention, and advance14 ment in targeted industry clusters, including by devel15 oping— 

16 ‘‘(1) immediate strategies for regions and com17 munities to fulfill pressing skilled workforce needs; 

18 ‘‘(2) long-term plans to grow targeted industry 

19 clusters with better training and a more productive 

20 workforce; 

21 ‘‘(3) core competencies and competitive advan22 tages for regions and communities undergoing struc23 tural economic redevelopment; and 

24 ‘‘(4) skill standards, career ladders, job re25 definitions, employer practices, and shared training 


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1 and support capacities that facilitate the advance2 ment of workers at all skill levels. 

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

4 ‘‘(1) CAREER LADDER.—The term ‘career lad5 der’ means an identified series of positions, work ex6 periences, and educational benchmarks or credentials 

7 that offer occupational and financial advancement 

8 within a specified career field or related fields over 

9 time. 

10 ‘‘(2) ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY.—The term 

11 ‘economic self-sufficiency’ means, with respect to a 

12 worker, earning a wage sufficient to support a fam13 ily adequately over time, based on factors such as— 

14 ‘‘(A) family size; 

15 ‘‘(B) the number and ages of children in 

16 the family; 

17 ‘‘(C) the cost of living in the worker’s com18 munity; and 

19 ‘‘(D) other factors that may vary by re20 gion. 

21 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en22 tity’ means— 

23 ‘‘(A) an industry or sector partnership; or 

24 ‘‘(B) an eligible State agency. 


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1 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE STATE AGENCY.—The term ‘eli2 gible State agency’ means a State agency designated 

3 by the Governor of the State in which the State 

4 agency is located for the purposes of the grant pro5 gram under this section. 

6 ‘‘(5) HIGH-PRIORITY OCCUPATION.—The term 

7 ‘high-priority occupation’ means an occupation 

8 that— 

9 ‘‘(A) has a significant presence in an in10 dustry cluster; 

11 ‘‘(B) is in demand by employers; 

12 ‘‘(C) pays family-sustaining wages that en13 able workers to achieve economic self-suffi14 ciency, or can reasonably be expected to lead to 

15 such wages; 

16 ‘‘(D) has or is in the process of developing 

17 a documented career ladder; and 

18 ‘‘(E) has a significant impact on a region’s 

19 economic development strategy. 

20 ‘‘(6) INDUSTRY CLUSTER.—The term ‘industry 

21 cluster’ means a concentration of interconnected 

22 businesses, suppliers, research and development enti23 ties, service providers, and associated institutions in 

24 a particular field that are linked by common work25 force needs. 


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1 ‘‘(7) INDUSTRY OR SECTOR PARTNERSHIP.— 

2 The term ‘industry or sector partnership’ means a 

3 workforce collaborative that is described as follows: 

4 ‘‘(A) REQUIRED MEMBERS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An industry or 

6 sector partnership is a workforce collabo7 rative that organizes key stakeholders in a 

8 targeted industry cluster into a working 

9 group that focuses on the workforce needs 

10 of the targeted industry cluster and in11 cludes, at the appropriate stage of develop12 ment of the partnership— 

13 ‘‘(I) representatives of multiple 

14 firms or employers in the targeted in15 dustry cluster, including small- and 

16 medium-sized employers when prac17 ticable; 

18 ‘‘(II) 1 or more representatives of 

19 State labor organizations, central 

20 labor coalitions, or other labor organi21 zations, except in instances where no 

22 labor representation exists; 

23 ‘‘(III) 1 or more representatives 

24 of local boards; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) 1 or more representatives 

2 of postsecondary educational institu3 tions or other training providers; and 

4 ‘‘(V) 1 or more representatives of 

5 State workforce agencies or other en6 tities providing employment services. 

7 ‘‘(ii) DIVERSE AND DISTINCT REP8 RESENTATION.—No individual may serve 

9 as a member in an industry or sector part10 nership, as defined in this paragraph, for 

11 more than 1 of the required categories de12 scribed in subclauses (I) through (V) of 

13 clause (i). 

14 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZED MEMBERS.—An indus15 try or sector partnership may include represent16 atives of— 

17 ‘‘(i) State or local government; 

18 ‘‘(ii) State or local economic develop19 ment agencies; 

20 ‘‘(iii) other State or local agencies; 

21 ‘‘(iv) chambers of commerce; 

22 ‘‘(v) nonprofit organizations; 

23 ‘‘(vi) philanthropic organizations; 

24 ‘‘(vii) economic development organiza25 tions; 


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1 ‘‘(viii) industry associations; and 

2 ‘‘(ix) other organizations, as deter3 mined necessary by the members com4 prising the industry or sector partnership. 

5 ‘‘(8) INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED.—The term ‘in6 dustry-recognized’, used with respect to a credential, 

7 means a credential that— 

8 ‘‘(A) is sought or accepted by businesses 

9 within the industry or sector involved as a rec10 ognized, preferred, or required credential for re11 cruitment, screening, or hiring purposes; and 

12 ‘‘(B) is endorsed by a nationally recognized 

13 trade association or organization representing a 

14 significant part of the industry or sector, where 

15 appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(9) NATIONALLY PORTABLE.—The term ‘na17 tionally portable’, used with respect to a credential, 

18 means a credential that is sought or accepted by 

19 businesses within the industry sector involved, across 

20 multiple States, as a recognized, preferred, or re21 quired credential for recruitment, screening, or hir22 ing purposes. 

23 ‘‘(10) TARGETED INDUSTRY CLUSTER.—The 

24 term ‘targeted industry cluster’ means an industry 

25 cluster that has— 


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1 ‘‘(A) economic impact in a local or regional 

2 area, such as advanced manufacturing, clean 

3 energy technology, and health care; 

4 ‘‘(B) immediate workforce development 

5 needs, such as advanced manufacturing, clean 

6 energy, technology, and health care; and 

7 ‘‘(C) documented career opportunities. 

8 ‘‘(c) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro10 priated to carry out this section, the Secretary shall 

11 award, on a competitive basis, grants described in 

12 paragraph (3) to eligible entities to enable the eligi13 ble entities to plan and implement, respectively, the 

14 eligible entities’ strategic objectives in accordance 

15 with subsection (d)(2)(D). 

16 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—An im18 plementation grant awarded under paragraph 

19 (3)(A) may not exceed a total of $2,500,000 for 

20 a 3-year period. 

21 ‘‘(B) RENEWAL GRANTS.—A renewal grant 

22 awarded under paragraph (3)(C) may not ex23 ceed a total of $1,500,000 for a 3-year period. 

24 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION AND RENEWAL

25 GRANTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

2 award an implementation grant under this sec3 tion to an eligible entity that has established, or 

4 is in the process of establishing, an industry or 

5 sector partnership. 

6 ‘‘(B) DURATION.—An implementation 

7 grant shall be for a duration of not more than 

8 3 years, and may be renewed in accordance 

9 with subparagraph (C). 

10 ‘‘(C) RENEWAL.—The Secretary may 

11 renew an implementation grant for not more 

12 than 3 years. A renewal of such grant shall be 

13 subject to the requirements of this section, ex14 cept that the Secretary shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) prioritize renewals to eligible enti16 ties that can demonstrate the long-term 

17 sustainability of an industry or sector part18 nership funded under this section; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) require assurances that the eligi20 ble entity will leverage, in accordance with 

21 subparagraph (D)(ii), each year of the 

22 grant period, additional funding sources 

23 for the non-Federal share of the grant 

24 which shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) be in an amount greater 

2 than— 

3 ‘‘(aa) the non-Federal share 

4 requirement described in sub5 paragraph (D)(i)(III); and 

6 ‘‘(bb) for the second and 

7 third year of the grant period, 

8 the non-Federal share amount 

9 the eligible entity provided for 

10 the preceding year of the grant; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(II) include at least a 50 per13 cent cash match from the State or the 

14 industry cluster, or some combination 

15 thereof, of the eligible entity. 

16 ‘‘(D) FEDERAL AND NON-FEDERAL

17 SHARE.— 

18 ‘‘(i) FEDERAL SHARE.—Except as 

19 provided in subparagraph (C)(ii) and 

20 clause (iii), the Federal share of a grant 

21 under this section shall be— 

22 ‘‘(I) 90 percent of the costs of 

23 the activities described in subsection 

24 (f), in the first year of the grant; 


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1 ‘‘(II) 80 percent of such costs in 

2 the second year of the grant; and 

3 ‘‘(III) 70 percent of such costs in 

4 the third year of the grant. 

5 ‘‘(ii) NON-FEDERAL.—The non-Fed6 eral share of a grant under this section 

7 may be in cash or in-kind, and may come 

8 from State, local, philanthropic, private, or 

9 other sources. 

10 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary 

11 may require the Federal share of a grant 

12 under this section to be 100 percent if an 

13 eligible entity receiving such grant is lo14 cated in a State or local area that is re15 ceiving a national emergency grant under 

16 section 173. 

17 ‘‘(4) FISCAL AGENT.—Each eligible entity re18 ceiving a grant under this section that is an industry 

19 or sector partnership shall designate an entity in the 

20 partnership as the fiscal agent for purposes of this 

21 grant. 

22 ‘‘(5) USE OF GRANT FUNDS DURING GRANT PE23 RIODS.—An eligible entity receiving grant funds 

24 under a grant under this section shall expend grant 


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1 funds or obligate grant funds to be expended by the 

2 last day of the grant period. 

3 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IDENTIFICATION OF A TARGETED INDUS5 TRY CLUSTER.—In order to qualify for a grant 

6 under this section, an eligible entity shall identify a 

7 targeted industry cluster that could benefit from 

8 such grant by— 

9 ‘‘(A) working with businesses, industry as10 sociations and organizations, labor organiza11 tions, State boards, local boards, economic de12 velopment agencies, and other organizations 

13 that the eligible entity determines necessary, to 

14 identify an appropriate targeted industry clus15 ter based on criteria that include, at a min16 imum— 

17 ‘‘(i) data showing the competitiveness 

18 of the industry cluster; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the importance of the industry 

20 cluster to the economic development of the 

21 area served by the eligible entity, including 

22 estimation of jobs created or preserved; 

23 ‘‘(iii) the identification of supply and 

24 distribution chains within the industry 

25 cluster; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) research studies on industry 

2 clusters; and 

3 ‘‘(B) working with appropriate employment 

4 agencies, workforce investment boards, eco5 nomic development agencies, community organi6 zations, and other organizations that the eligi7 ble entity determines necessary to ensure that 

8 the targeted industry cluster identified under 

9 subparagraph (A) should be targeted for invest10 ment, based primarily on the following criteria: 

11 ‘‘(i) Demonstrated demand for job 

12 growth potential. 

13 ‘‘(ii) Employment base. 

14 ‘‘(iii) Wages and benefits. 

15 ‘‘(iv) Demonstrated importance of the 

16 targeted industry cluster to the area’s 

17 economy. 

18 ‘‘(v) Workforce development needs. 

19 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity desiring 

20 to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 

21 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

22 manner, and containing such information as the Sec23 retary may require. An application submitted under 

24 this paragraph shall contain, at a minimum, the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(A) A description of the eligible entity, 

2 evidence of the eligible entity’s capacity to carry 

3 out activities in support of the strategic objec4 tives identified in the application under sub5 paragraph (D), and a description of the ex6 pected participation and responsibilities of each 

7 of the mandatory partners described in sub8 section (b)(8)(A). 

9 ‘‘(B) A description of the targeted industry 

10 cluster for which the eligible entity intends to 

11 carry out activities through a grant under this 

12 section, and a description of how such targeted 

13 industry cluster was identified in accordance 

14 with paragraph (1). 

15 ‘‘(C) A description of the workers that will 

16 be targeted or recruited by the partnership, in17 cluding an analysis of the existing labor market, 

18 a description of potential barriers to employ19 ment for targeted workers, and a description of 

20 strategies that will be employed to help workers 

21 overcome such barriers. 

22 ‘‘(D) A description of the strategic objec23 tives that the eligible entity intends to carry out 

24 for the targeted industry cluster, which objec25 tives shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) recruiting key stakeholders in the 

2 targeted industry cluster, such as multiple 

3 businesses and employers, labor organiza4 tions, local boards, and education and 

5 training providers, and regularly convening 

6 the stakeholders in a collaborative struc7 ture that supports the sharing of informa8 tion, ideas, and challenges common to the 

9 targeted industry cluster; 

10 ‘‘(ii) identifying the training needs of 

11 multiple businesses, especially skill gaps 

12 critical to competitiveness and innovation 

13 to the targeted industry cluster; 

14 ‘‘(iii) facilitating economies of scale by 

15 aggregating training and education needs 

16 of multiple employers; 

17 ‘‘(iv) helping postsecondary edu18 cational institutions, training institutions, 

19 apprenticeship programs, and all other 

20 training programs authorized under this 

21 Act, align curricula, entrance require22 ments, and programs to industry demand 

23 and nationally portable, industry-recog24 nized credentials (or, if not available for 

25 the targeted industry, other credentials, as 


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1 determined appropriate by the Secretary), 

2 particularly for higher skill, high-priority 

3 occupations validated by the industry; 

4 ‘‘(v) ensuring that the State agency 

5 carrying out the State program under the 

6 Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. 49 et seq.), 

7 including staff of the agency that provide 

8 services under such Act, shall inform re9 cipients of unemployment insurance of the 

10 job and training opportunities that may re11 sult from the implementation of this grant; 

12 ‘‘(vi) informing and collaborating with 

13 organizations such as youth councils, busi14 ness-education partnerships, apprenticeship 

15 programs, secondary schools, and postsec16 ondary educational institutions, and with 

17 parents and career counselors, for the pur18 pose of addressing the challenges of con19 necting disadvantaged adults as defined in 

20 section 132(b)(1)(B)(v) and disadvantaged 

21 youth as defined in section 127(b) to ca22 reers; 

23 ‘‘(vii) helping companies identify, and 

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1 zational and human resource challenges, 

2 such as— 

3 ‘‘(I) recruiting new workers; 

4 ‘‘(II) implementing effective 

5 workplace practices; 

6 ‘‘(III) retraining dislocated and 

7 incumbent workers; 

8 ‘‘(IV) implementing a high-per9 formance work organization; 

10 ‘‘(V) recruiting and retaining 

11 women in nontraditional occupations; 

12 ‘‘(VI) adopting new technologies; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(VII) fostering experiential and 

15 contextualized on-the-job learning; 

16 ‘‘(viii) developing and strengthening 

17 career ladders within and across compa18 nies, in order to enable dislocated, incum19 bent and entry-level workers to improve 

20 skills and advance to higher-wage jobs; 

21 ‘‘(ix) improving job quality through 

22 improving wages, benefits, and working 

23 conditions; 

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1 tential employees from a diverse job seeker 

2 base, including individuals with barriers to 

3 employment (such as job seekers who are 

4 low income, youth, older workers, and indi5 viduals who have completed a term of im6 prisonment), by identifying such barriers 

7 through analysis of the existing labor mar8 ket and implementing strategies to help 

9 such workers overcome such barriers; and 

10 ‘‘(xi) strengthening connections 

11 among businesses in the targeted industry 

12 cluster, leading to cooperation beyond 

13 workforce issues that will improve competi14 tiveness and job quality, such as joint pur15 chasing, market research, or centers for 

16 technology and innovation. 

17 ‘‘(E) A description of the nationally port18 able, industry-recognized credentials or, if not 

19 available, other credentials, related to the tar20 geted industry cluster that the eligible entity 

21 proposes to support, develop, or use as a per22 formance measure, in order to carry out the 

23 strategic objectives described in subparagraph 

24 (D). 


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1 ‘‘(F) A description of the manner in which 

2 the eligible entity intends to make sustainable 

3 progress toward the strategic objectives. 

4 ‘‘(G) Performance measures for measuring 

5 progress toward the strategic objectives. Such 

6 performance measures— 

7 ‘‘(i) may consider the benefits pro8 vided by the grant activities funded under 

9 this section for workers employed in the 

10 targeted industry cluster, disaggregated by 

11 gender and race, such as— 

12 ‘‘(I) the number of workers re13 ceiving nationally portable, industry14 recognized credentials (or, if not avail15 able for the targeted industry, other 

16 credentials) described in the applica17 tion under subparagraph (E); 

18 ‘‘(II) the number of workers with 

19 increased wages, the percentage of 

20 workers with increased wages, and the 

21 average wage increase; and 

22 ‘‘(III) for dislocated or non23 incumbent workers, the number of 

24 workers placed in sector-related jobs; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) may consider the benefits pro2 vided by the grant activities funded under 

3 this section for firms and industries in the 

4 targeted industry cluster, such as— 

5 ‘‘(I) the creation or updating of 

6 an industry plan to meet current and 

7 future workforce demand; 

8 ‘‘(II) the creation or updating of 

9 published industry-wide skill stand10 ards or career pathways; 

11 ‘‘(III) the creation or updating of 

12 nationally portable, industry-recog13 nized credentials, or where there is 

14 not such a credential, the creation or 

15 updating of a training curriculum that 

16 can lead to the development of such a 

17 credential; 

18 ‘‘(IV) the number of firms, and 

19 the percentage of the local industry, 

20 participating in the industry or sector 

21 partnership; and 

22 ‘‘(V) the number of firms, and 

23 the percentage of the local industry, 

24 receiving workers or services through 

25 the grant funded under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(H) A timeline for achieving progress to2 ward the strategic objectives. 

3 ‘‘(I) In the case of an eligible entity desir4 ing an implementation grant under this section, 

5 an assurance that the eligible entity will lever6 age other funding sources, in addition to the 

7 amount required for the non-Federal share 

8 under subsection (c)(3)(D), to provide training 

9 or supportive services to workers under the 

10 grant program. Such additional funding sources 

11 may include— 

12 ‘‘(i) funding under this title used for 

13 such training and supportive services; 

14 ‘‘(ii) funding under title II; 

15 ‘‘(iii) economic development funding; 

16 ‘‘(iv) employer contributions to train17 ing initiatives; or 

18 ‘‘(v) providing employees with em19 ployee release time for such training or 

20 supportive services. 

21 ‘‘(e) AWARD BASIS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Sec23 retary shall award grants under this section in a 

24 manner to ensure geographic diversity. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PRIORITIES.—In awarding grants under 

2 this section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligi3 ble entities that— 

4 ‘‘(A) work with employers within a tar5 geted industry cluster to retain and expand em6 ployment in high wage, high growth areas; 

7 ‘‘(B) focus on helping workers move to8 ward economic self-sufficiency and ensuring the 

9 workers have access to adequate supportive 

10 services; 

11 ‘‘(C) address the needs of firms with lim12 ited human resources or in-house training ca13 pacity, including small- and medium-sized 

14 firms; and 

15 ‘‘(D) coordinate with entities carrying out 

16 State and local workforce investment, economic 

17 development, and education activities. 

18 ‘‘(f) ACTIVITIES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity receiving 

20 a grant under this section shall carry out the activi21 ties necessary to meet the strategic objectives, in22 cluding planning activities if applicable, described in 

23 the entity’s application in a manner that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) integrates services and funding 

2 sources in a way that enhances the effectiveness 

3 of the activities; and 

4 ‘‘(B) uses grant funds awarded under this 

5 section efficiently. 

6 ‘‘(2) PLANNING ACTIVITIES.—Planning activi7 ties may only be carried out by an eligible entity re8 ceiving an implementation grant under this section 

9 during the first year of the grant period with not 

10 more than $250,000 of the grant funds. 

11 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—An eligible enti12 ty may retain a portion of a grant awarded under 

13 this section for a fiscal year to carry out the admin14 istration of this section in an amount not to exceed 

15 5 percent of the grant amount. 

16 ‘‘(g) EVALUATION AND PROGRESS REPORTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL ACTIVITY REPORT AND EVALUA18 TION.—Not later than 1 year after receiving a grant 

19 under this section, and annually thereafter, an eligi20 ble entity shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) report to the Secretary, and to the 

22 Governor of the State that the eligible entity 

23 serves, on the activities funded pursuant to a 

24 grant under this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) evaluate the progress the eligible enti2 ty has made toward the strategic objectives 

3 identified in the application under subsection 

4 (d)(2)(D), and measure the progress using the 

5 performance measures identified in the applica6 tion under subsection (d)(2)(G). 

7 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO THE SECRETARY.—An eligible 

8 entity receiving a grant under this section shall sub9 mit to the Secretary a report containing the results 

10 of the evaluation described in subparagraph (B) at 

11 such time and in such manner as the Secretary may 

12 require. 

13 ‘‘(h) ADMINISTRATION BY THE SECRETARY.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Secretary 

15 may retain not more than 10 percent of the funds 

16 appropriated to carry out this section for each fiscal 

17 year to administer this section. 

18 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND OVER19 SIGHT.—The Secretary shall provide technical assist20 ance and oversight to assist the eligible entities in 

21 applying for and administering grants awarded 

22 under this section. The Secretary shall also provide 

23 technical assistance to eligible entities in the form of 

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1 retary may award a grant or contract to 1 or more 

2 national or State organizations to provide technical 

3 assistance to foster the planning, formation, and im4 plementation of industry cluster partnerships. 

5 ‘‘(3) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—The Sec6 retary shall issue a range of performance measures, 

7 with quantifiable benchmarks, and methodologies 

8 that eligible entities may use to evaluate the effec9 tiveness of each type of activity in making progress 

10 toward the strategic objectives described in sub11 section (d)(2)(D). Such measures shall consider the 

12 benefits of the industry or sector partnership and its 

13 activities for workers, firms, industries, and commu14 nities. 

15 ‘‘(4) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The 

16 Secretary shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) coordinate the annual review of each 

18 eligible entity receiving a grant under this sec19 tion and produce an overview report that, at a 

20 minimum, includes— 

21 ‘‘(i) the critical learning of each in22 dustry or sector partnership, such as— 

23 ‘‘(I) the training that was most 

24 effective; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the human resource chal2 lenges that were most common; 

3 ‘‘(III) how technology is changing 

4 the targeted industry cluster; and 

5 ‘‘(IV) the changes that may im6 pact the targeted industry cluster over 

7 the next 5 years; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) a description of what eligible en9 tities serving similar targeted industry 

10 clusters consider exemplary practices, such 

11 as— 

12 ‘‘(I) how to work effectively with 

13 postsecondary educational institutions; 

14 ‘‘(II) the use of internships; 

15 ‘‘(III) coordinating with appren16 ticeships and cooperative education 

17 programs; 

18 ‘‘(IV) how to work effectively 

19 with schools providing vocational edu20 cation; 

21 ‘‘(V) how to work effectively with 

22 adult populations, including— 

23 ‘‘(aa) dislocated workers; 

24 ‘‘(bb) women in nontradi25 tional occupations; and 


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1 ‘‘(cc) individuals with bar2 riers to employment, such as job 

3 seekers who— 

4 ‘‘(AA) are economically 

5 disadvantaged; 

6 ‘‘(BB) have limited 

7 English proficiency; 

8 ‘‘(CC) require remedial 

9 education; 

10 ‘‘(DD) are older work11 ers; 

12 ‘‘(EE) are individuals 

13 who have completed a sen14 tence for a criminal offense; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(FF) have other bar17 riers to employment; 

18 ‘‘(VI) employer practices that are 

19 most effective; 

20 ‘‘(VII) the types of training that 

21 are most effective; 

22 ‘‘(VIII) other areas where indus23 try or sector partnerships can assist 

24 each other; and 


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1 ‘‘(IX) alignment of curricula to 

2 nationally portable, industry-recog3 nized credentials in the sectors where 

4 they are available or, if not available 

5 for the sector, other credentials, as 

6 described in the application under 

7 subsection (d)(2)(E); 

8 ‘‘(B) make resource materials, including all 

9 reports published and all data collected under 

10 this section, available on the Internet; and 

11 ‘‘(C) conduct conferences and seminars 

12 to— 

13 ‘‘(i) disseminate information on best 

14 practices developed by eligible entities re15 ceiving a grant under this section; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) provide information to the com17 munities of eligible entities. 

18 ‘‘(5) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

19 the date of enactment of the Strengthening Employ20 ment Clusters To Organize Regional Success Act of 

21 2013, and on an annual basis thereafter, the Sec22 retary shall transmit a report to Congress on the in23 dustry or sector partnership grant program estab24 lished by this section. The report shall include a de25 scription of— 


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•S 1226 IS

1 ‘‘(A) the eligible entities receiving funding; 

2 ‘‘(B) the activities carried out by the eligi3 ble entities; 

4 ‘‘(C) how the eligible entities were selected 

5 to receive funding under this section; and 

6 ‘‘(D) an assessment of the results achieved 

7 by the grant program including findings from 

8 the annual reviews described in paragraph 

9 (4)(A). 

10 ‘‘(i) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec11 tion shall be construed to permit the reporting or sharing 

12 of personally identifiable information collected or made 

13 available under this section.’’. 

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con15 tents in section 1(b) of the Workforce Investment Act of 

16 1998 (20 U.S.C. 9201 note) is amended by inserting after 

17 the item relating to section 171 the following: 

‘‘171A. Industry or sector partnership grant program.’’. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS