I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2721 

To establish a grant program within the Department of Labor to support 

the creation, implementation, and expansion of registered apprenticeship 

programs in cybersecurity. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 14, 2019 

Mrs. LEE of Nevada (for herself, Ms. STEFANIK, Ms. SPANBERGER, and Mr. 

RIGGLEMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To establish a grant program within the Department of 

Labor to support the creation, implementation, and expansion of registered apprenticeship programs in cybersecurity. 

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 ‘‘Cyber Ready Work5 force Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) According to Georgetown University’s Cen2 ter on Education and the Workforce, by 2020, the 

3 United States is projected to experience a shortage 

4 of 5,000,000 workers with postsecondary education 

5 or training, including vocational certificates and ap6 prenticeship training. 

7 (2) Registered apprenticeships strengthen the 

8 Nation’s economy, create pathways to good-paying 

9 careers, and help meet the Nation’s current work10 force demands. 

11 (3) Apprenticeships can help fill the Nation’s 

12 workforce needs, including in fields not traditionally 

13 linked to apprenticeships, such as cybersecurity. 

14 (4) The cybersecurity field has a severe short15 age in talent, with over 300,000 job openings today, 

16 according to CyberSeek, an interactive cybersecurity 

17 jobs heat map funded by the Department of Com18 merce’s National Institute of Standards and Tech19 nology (NIST). 

20 (5) Employers, especially in cybersecurity and 

21 information technology fields, may be unfamiliar 

22 with the apprenticeship model or do not have the ca23 pacity or resources to develop and implement their 

24 own training. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 

4 The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ 

5 means a program registered under the Act of Au6 gust 16, 1937 (commonly known as the ‘‘National 

7 Apprenticeship Act’’; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 

8 (2) WORKFORCE INTERMEDIARY.—The term 

9 ‘‘workforce intermediary’’ means an entity that fa10 cilitates the establishment of registered apprentice11 ship programs, and may be a partnership that in12 cludes one or more of the following as partners: 

13 (A) A business or industry organization. 

14 (B) A community-based organization, as 

15 defined in section 3201(5) of the Elementary 

16 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

17 U.S.C. 7801(5)). 

18 (C) A State or local workforce development 

19 board, as such terms are defined in section 3 of 

20 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

21 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

22 (D) A postsecondary education institution 

23 with experience in developing and administering 

24 registered apprenticeship programs. 

25 (E) A joint labor-management partnership. 


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1 (F) An institution of higher education, as 

2 defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu3 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

4 (G) A nonprofit organization. 

5 SEC. 4. CYBERSECURITY APPRENTICESHIP GRANT PRO6 GRAM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

8 award grants, on a competitive basis, to workforce inter9 mediaries, to support the establishment, implementation, 

10 and expansion of registered apprenticeship programs in 

11 cybersecurity. 

12 (b) DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAMS ELIGIBLE.—For 

13 purposes of subsection (a), registered apprenticeship pro14 grams in cybersecurity shall include technical instruction, 

15 workplace training, and industry-recognized certification 

16 in cybersecurity. Programs shall— 

17 (1) include certifications in CompTIA 

18 Network+, CompTIA A+, CompTIA Security+, 

19 Microsoft Windows 10 Technician, Microsoft Cer20 tified System Administrator, Certified Network De21 fender, Certified Ethical Hacker, ISACA Cybersecurity Nexus (CSX), (ISC)2 22 ’s Certified Information 

23 Systems Security Professional (CISSP), or other in24 dustry-recognized certification in cybersecurity; 


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1 (2) encourage stackable and portable creden2 tials; and 

3 (3) lead to occupations such as computer sup4 port specialists, cybersecurity support technicians, 

5 cloud computing architects, computer programmers, 

6 computer systems analysts, or security specialists. 

7 SEC. 5. USE OF FUNDS. 

8 (a) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—A workforce inter9 mediary shall use at least 85 percent of the amount of 

10 grant funds received under this Act for the following: 

11 (1) DEVELOPMENT AND TECHNICAL SUP12 PORT.—Complete the apprenticeship registration 

13 process with the Department of Labor, and assist 

14 employers with other logistical and technical issues. 

15 (2) EMPLOYER PARTNERSHIP.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Develop curricula and 

17 technical instruction for the registered appren18 ticeship program in cooperation with local busi19 nesses, organizations, and employer-partners, 

20 referencing the work roles and tasks outlined in 

21 the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Edu22 cation (NICE) Cybersecurity Workforce Frame23 work Special Publication 800–181 to develop 

24 skills and standards for the program. 


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1 (B) OFFSITE TRAINING.—Assist employers 

2 in paying for the cost of offsite training and ac3 quiring course materials provided to appren4 tices. 

5 (C) CONNECTING EMPLOYERS.—Connect 

6 employers with education and training providers 

7 to complement on-the-job learning. 

8 (3) SUPPORT SERVICES FOR APPRENTICES.— 

9 Provide support services to apprentices to assist with 

10 their success in the registered apprenticeship pro11 gram, which may include the following: 

12 (A) Career counseling. 

13 (B) Mentorship. 

14 (C) Assisting with costs of transportation, 

15 housing, and child care services. 

16 (b) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—A workforce inter17 mediary may use up to 15 percent of the amount of grant 

18 funds received under this Act for the following outreach 

19 and marketing activities: 

20 (1) Market apprenticeships and the apprentice21 ship model to employers, secondary school adminis22 trators, and counselors. 

23 (2) Recruit and conduct outreach to potential 

24 apprentices, including secondary school students, 


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1 underrepresented populations (such as women and 

2 minorities), youth, and veterans. 

3 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated, such sums 

5 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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