II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 665 

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 

MARCH 29, 2011 

Mr. BROWN of Ohio (for himself and Ms. SNOWE) 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 2011’’ 

6 or the ‘‘SECTORS Act of 2011’’. 


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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) one or more representatives 

19 of State labor organizations, central 

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

22 labor representation exists; 

23 ‘‘(III) one or more representa24 tives of local boards; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) one or more representa2 tives of postsecondary educational in3 stitutions or other training providers; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(V) one or more representatives 

6 of State workforce agencies or other 

7 entities providing employment serv8 ices. 

9 ‘‘(ii) DIVERSE AND DISTINCT REP10 RESENTATION.—No individual may serve 

11 as a member in an industry or sector part12 nership, as defined in this paragraph, for 

13 more than one of the required categories 

14 described in subclauses (I) through (V) of 

15 clause (i). 

16 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZED MEMBERS.—An indus17 try or sector partnership may include represent18 atives of— 

19 ‘‘(i) State or local government; 

20 ‘‘(ii) State or local economic develop21 ment agencies; 

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

23 ‘‘(iv) chambers of commerce; 

24 ‘‘(v) nonprofit organizations; 

25 ‘‘(vi) philanthropic organizations; 


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1 ‘‘(vii) economic development organiza2 tions; 

3 ‘‘(viii) industry associations; and 

4 ‘‘(ix) other organizations, as deter5 mined necessary by the members com6 prising the industry or sector partnership. 

7 ‘‘(8) INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED.—The term ‘in8 dustry-recognized’, used with respect to a credential, 

9 means a credential that— 

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

11 within the industry or sector involved as a rec12 ognized, preferred, or required credential for re13 cruitment, screening, or hiring purposes; and 

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

15 trade association or organization representing a 

16 significant part of the industry or sector, where 

17 appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(9) NATIONALLY PORTABLE.—The term ‘na19 tionally portable’, used with respect to a credential, 

20 means a credential that is sought or accepted by 

21 businesses within the industry sector involved, across 

22 multiple States, as a recognized, preferred, or re23 quired credential for recruitment, screening, or hir24 ing purposes. 


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

2 term ‘targeted industry cluster’ means an industry 

3 cluster that has— 

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

5 area, such as advanced manufacturing, clean 

6 energy technology, and health care; 

7 ‘‘(B) immediate workforce development 

8 needs, such as advanced manufacturing, clean 

9 energy, technology, and health care; and 

10 ‘‘(C) documented career opportunities. 

11 ‘‘(c) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro13 priated to carry out this section, the Secretary shall 

14 award, on a competitive basis, grants described in 

15 paragraph (3) to eligible entities to enable the eligi16 ble entities to plan and implement, respectively, the 

17 eligible entities’ strategic objectives in accordance 

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

19 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—An im21 plementation grant awarded under paragraph 

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

23 a 3-year period. 


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

2 awarded under paragraph (3)(C) may not ex3 ceed a total of $1,500,000 for a 3-year period. 

4 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION AND RENEWAL

5 GRANTS.— 

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

7 award an implementation grant under this sec8 tion to an eligible entity that has established, or 

9 is in the process of establishing, an industry or 

10 sector partnership. 

11 ‘‘(B) DURATION.—An implementation 

12 grant shall be for a duration of not more than 

13 3 years, and may be renewed in accordance 

14 with subparagraph (C). 

15 ‘‘(C) RENEWAL.—The Secretary may 

16 renew an implementation grant for not more 

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

18 subject to the requirements of this section, ex19 cept that the Secretary shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) prioritize renewals to eligible enti21 ties that can demonstrate the long-term 

22 sustainability of an industry or sector part23 nership funded under this section; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) require assurances that the eligi25 ble entity will leverage, in accordance with 


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

2 grant period, additional funding sources 

3 for the non-Federal share of the grant 

4 which shall— 

5 ‘‘(I) be in an amount greater 

6 than— 

7 ‘‘(aa) the non-Federal share 

8 requirement described in sub9 paragraph (D)(i)(III); and 

10 ‘‘(bb) for the second and 

11 third year of the grant period, 

12 the non-Federal share amount 

13 the eligible entity provided for 

14 the preceding year of the grant; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(II) include at least a 50 per17 cent cash match from the State, the 

18 industry cluster, or some combination 

19 thereof, of the eligible entity. 

20 ‘‘(D) FEDERAL AND NON-FEDERAL

21 SHARE.— 

22 ‘‘(i) FEDERAL SHARE.—Except as 

23 provided in subparagraph (C)(ii) and 

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

25 under this section shall be— 


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1 ‘‘(I) 90 percent of the costs of 

2 the activities described in subsection 

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

4 ‘‘(II) 80 percent of such costs in 

5 the second year of the grant; and 

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

7 the third year of the grant. 

8 ‘‘(ii) NON-FEDERAL.—The non-Fed9 eral share of a grant under this section 

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

11 from State, local, philanthropic, private, or 

12 other sources. 

13 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary 

14 may require the Federal share of a grant 

15 under this section to be 100 percent if an 

16 eligible entity receiving such grant is lo17 cated in a State or local area that is re18 ceiving a national emergency grant under 

19 section 173. 

20 ‘‘(4) FISCAL AGENT.—Each eligible entity re21 ceiving a grant under this section that is an industry 

22 or sector partnership shall designate an entity in the 

23 partnership as the fiscal agent for purposes of this 

24 grant. 


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1 ‘‘(5) USE OF GRANT FUNDS DURING GRANT PE2 RIODS.—An eligible entity receiving grant funds 

3 under a grant under this section shall expend grant 

4 funds or obligate grant funds to be expended by the 

5 last day of the grant period. 

6 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IDENTIFICATION OF A TARGETED INDUS8 TRY CLUSTER.—In order to qualify for a grant 

9 under this section, an eligible entity shall identify a 

10 targeted industry cluster that could benefit from 

11 such grant by— 

12 ‘‘(A) working with businesses, industry as13 sociations and organizations, labor organiza14 tions, State boards, local boards, economic de15 velopment agencies, and other organizations 

16 that the eligible entity determines necessary, to 

17 identify an appropriate targeted industry clus18 ter based on criteria that include, at a min19 imum— 

20 ‘‘(i) data showing the competitiveness 

21 of the industry cluster; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the importance of the industry 

23 cluster to the economic development of the 

24 area served by the eligible entity, including 

25 estimation of jobs created or preserved; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the identification of supply and 

2 distribution chains within the industry 

3 cluster; and 

4 ‘‘(iv) research studies on industry 

5 clusters; and 

6 ‘‘(B) working with appropriate employment 

7 agencies, workforce investment boards, eco8 nomic development agencies, community organi9 zations, and other organizations that the eligi10 ble entity determines necessary to ensure that 

11 the targeted industry cluster identified under 

12 subparagraph (A) should be targeted for invest13 ment, based primarily on the following criteria: 

14 ‘‘(i) Demonstrated demand for job 

15 growth potential. 

16 ‘‘(ii) Employment base. 

17 ‘‘(iii) Wages and benefits. 

18 ‘‘(iv) Demonstrated importance of the 

19 targeted industry cluster to the area’s 

20 economy. 

21 ‘‘(v) Workforce development needs. 

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

23 to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 

24 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

25 manner, and containing such information as the SecVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:58 Mar 30, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S665.IS S665

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1 retary may require. An application submitted under 

2 this paragraph shall contain, at a minimum, the fol3 lowing: 

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

5 evidence of the eligible entity’s capacity to carry 

6 out activities in support of the strategic objec7 tives identified in the application under sub8 paragraph (D), and a description of the ex9 pected participation and responsibilities of each 

10 of the mandatory partners described in sub11 section (b)(8)(A). 

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

13 cluster for which the eligible entity intends to 

14 carry out activities through a grant under this 

15 section, and a description of how such targeted 

16 industry cluster was identified in accordance 

17 with paragraph (1). 

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

19 be targeted or recruited by the partnership, in20 cluding an analysis of the existing labor market, 

21 a description of potential barriers to employ22 ment for targeted workers, and a description of 

23 strategies that will be employed to help workers 

24 overcome such barriers. 


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1 ‘‘(D) A description of the strategic objec2 tives that the eligible entity intends to carry out 

3 for the targeted industry cluster, which objec4 tives shall include— 

5 ‘‘(i) recruiting key stakeholders in the 

6 targeted industry cluster, such as multiple 

7 businesses and employers, labor organiza8 tions, local boards, and education and 

9 training providers, and regularly convening 

10 the stakeholders in a collaborative struc11 ture that supports the sharing of informa12 tion, ideas, and challenges common to the 

13 targeted industry cluster; 

14 ‘‘(ii) identifying the training needs of 

15 multiple businesses, especially skill gaps 

16 critical to competitiveness and innovation 

17 to the targeted industry cluster; 

18 ‘‘(iii) facilitating economies of scale by 

19 aggregating training and education needs 

20 of multiple employers; 

21 ‘‘(iv) helping postsecondary edu22 cational institutions, training institutions, 

23 apprenticeship programs, and all other 

24 training programs authorized under this 

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1 ments, and programs to industry demand 

2 and nationally portable, industry-recog3 nized credentials (or, if not available for 

4 the targeted industry, other credentials, as 

5 determined appropriate by the Secretary), 

6 particularly for higher skill, high-priority 

7 occupations validated by the industry; 

8 ‘‘(v) ensuring that the State agency 

9 carrying out the State program under the 

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

11 including staff of the agency that provide 

12 services under such Act, shall inform re13 cipients of unemployment insurance of the 

14 job and training opportunities that may re15 sult from the implementation of this grant; 

16 ‘‘(vi) informing and collaborating with 

17 organizations such as youth councils, busi18 ness-education partnerships, apprenticeship 

19 programs, secondary schools, and postsec20 ondary educational institutions, and with 

21 parents and career counselors, for the pur22 pose of addressing the challenges of con23 necting disadvantaged adults as defined in 

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


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1 youth as defined in section 127(b) to ca2 reers; 

3 ‘‘(vii) helping companies identify, and 

4 work together to address, common organi5 zational and human resource challenges, 

6 such as— 

7 ‘‘(I) recruiting new workers; 

8 ‘‘(II) implementing effective 

9 workplace practices; 

10 ‘‘(III) retraining dislocated and 

11 incumbent workers; 

12 ‘‘(IV) implementing a high-per13 formance work organization; 

14 ‘‘(V) recruiting and retaining 

15 women in nontraditional occupations; 

16 ‘‘(VI) adopting new technologies; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(VII) fostering experiential and 

19 contextualized on-the-job learning; 

20 ‘‘(viii) developing and strengthening 

21 career ladders within and across compa22 nies, in order to enable dislocated, incum23 bent and entry-level workers to improve 

24 skills and advance to higher-wage jobs; 


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1 ‘‘(ix) improving job quality through 

2 improving wages, benefits, and working 

3 conditions; 

4 ‘‘(x) helping partner companies in in5 dustry or sector partnerships to attract po6 tential employees from a diverse job seeker 

7 base, including individuals with barriers to 

8 employment (such as job seekers who are 

9 low income, youth, older workers, and indi10 viduals who have completed a term of im11 prisonment), by identifying such barriers 

12 through analysis of the existing labor mar13 ket and implementing strategies to help 

14 such workers overcome such barriers; and 

15 ‘‘(xi) strengthening connections 

16 among businesses in the targeted industry 

17 cluster, leading to cooperation beyond 

18 workforce issues that will improve competi19 tiveness and job quality, such as joint pur20 chasing, market research, or centers for 

21 technology and innovation. 

22 ‘‘(E) A description of the nationally port23 able, industry-recognized credentials or, if not 

24 available, other credentials, related to the tar25 geted industry cluster that the eligible entity 


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1 proposes to support, develop, or use as a per2 formance measure, in order to carry out the 

3 strategic objectives described in subparagraph 

4 (D). 

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

6 the eligible entity intends to make sustainable 

7 progress toward the strategic objectives. 

8 ‘‘(G) Performance measures for measuring 

9 progress toward the strategic objectives. Such 

10 performance measures— 

11 ‘‘(i) may consider the benefits pro12 vided by the grant activities funded under 

13 this section for workers employed in the 

14 targeted industry cluster, disaggregated by 

15 gender and race, such as— 

16 ‘‘(I) the number of workers re17 ceiving nationally portable, industry18 recognized credentials (or, if not avail19 able for the targeted industry, other 

20 credentials) described in the applica21 tion under subparagraph (E); 

22 ‘‘(II) the number of workers with 

23 increased wages, the percentage of 

24 workers with increased wages, and the 

25 average wage increase; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) for dislocated or non2 incumbent workers, the number of 

3 workers placed in sector-related jobs; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ii) may consider the benefits pro6 vided by the grant activities funded under 

7 this section for firms and industries in the 

8 targeted industry cluster, such as— 

9 ‘‘(I) the creation or updating of 

10 an industry plan to meet current and 

11 future workforce demand; 

12 ‘‘(II) the creation or updating of 

13 published industry-wide skill stand14 ards or career pathways; 

15 ‘‘(III) the creation or updating of 

16 nationally portable, industry-recog17 nized credentials, or where there is 

18 not such a credential, the creation or 

19 updating of a training curriculum that 

20 can lead to the development of such a 

21 credential; 

22 ‘‘(IV) the number of firms, and 

23 the percentage of the local industry, 

24 participating in the industry or sector 

25 partnership; and 


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1 ‘‘(V) the number of firms, and 

2 the percentage of the local industry, 

3 receiving workers or services through 

4 the grant funded under this section. 

5 ‘‘(H) A timeline for achieving progress to6 ward the strategic objectives. 

7 ‘‘(I) In the case of an eligible entity desir8 ing an implementation grant under this section, 

9 an assurance that the eligible entity will lever10 age other funding sources, in addition to the 

11 amount required for the non-Federal share 

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

13 or supportive services to workers under the 

14 grant program. Such additional funding sources 

15 may include— 

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

17 such training and supportive services; 

18 ‘‘(ii) funding under the Adult Edu19 cation and Family Literacy Act of 1998 

20 (20 U.S.C. 9201 et seq.); 

21 ‘‘(iii) economic development funding; 

22 ‘‘(iv) employer contributions to train23 ing initiatives; or 


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1 ‘‘(v) providing employees with em2 ployee release time for such training or 

3 supportive services. 

4 ‘‘(e) AWARD BASIS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Sec6 retary shall award grants under this section in a 

7 manner to ensure geographic diversity. 

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

9 this section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligi10 ble entities that— 

11 ‘‘(A) work with employers within a tar12 geted industry cluster to retain and expand em13 ployment in high-wage, high-growth areas; 

14 ‘‘(B) focus on helping workers move to15 ward economic self-sufficiency and ensuring the 

16 workers have access to adequate supportive 

17 services; 

18 ‘‘(C) address the needs of firms with lim19 ited human resources or in-house training ca20 pacity, including small- and medium-sized 

21 firms; and 

22 ‘‘(D) coordinate with entities carrying out 

23 State and local workforce investment, economic 

24 development, and education activities. 

25 ‘‘(f) ACTIVITIES.— 


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

2 a grant under this section shall carry out the activi3 ties necessary to meet the strategic objectives, in4 cluding planning activities if applicable, described in 

5 the entity’s application in a manner that— 

6 ‘‘(A) integrates services and funding 

7 sources in a way that enhances the effectiveness 

8 of the activities; and 

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

10 section efficiently. 

11 ‘‘(2) PLANNING ACTIVITIES.—Planning activi12 ties may only be carried out by an eligible entity re13 ceiving an implementation grant under this section 

14 during the first year of the grant period with not 

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

16 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—An eligible enti17 ty may retain a portion of a grant awarded under 

18 this section for a fiscal year to carry out the admin19 istration of this section in an amount not to exceed 

20 5 percent of the grant amount. 

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

22 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL ACTIVITY REPORT AND EVALUA23 TION.—Not later than 1 year after receiving a grant 

24 under this section, and annually thereafter, an eligi25 ble entity shall— 


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

2 Governor of the State that the eligible entity 

3 serves, on the activities funded pursuant to a 

4 grant under this section; and 

5 ‘‘(B) evaluate the progress the eligible enti6 ty has made toward the strategic objectives 

7 identified in the application under subsection 

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

9 performance measures identified in the applica10 tion under subsection (d)(2)(G). 

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

12 entity receiving a grant under this section shall sub13 mit to the Secretary a report containing the results 

14 of the evaluation described in subparagraph (B) at 

15 such time and in such manner as the Secretary may 

16 require. 

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

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

19 may retain not more than 10 percent of the funds 

20 appropriated to carry out this section for each fiscal 

21 year to administer this section. 

22 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND OVER23 SIGHT.—The Secretary shall provide technical assist24 ance and oversight to assist the eligible entities in 

25 applying for and administering grants awarded 


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1 under this section. The Secretary shall also provide 

2 technical assistance to eligible entities in the form of 

3 conferences and through the collection and dissemi4 nation of information on best practices. The Sec5 retary may award a grant or contract to one or more 

6 national or State organizations to provide technical 

7 assistance to foster the planning, formation, and im8 plementation of industry cluster partnerships. 

9 ‘‘(3) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—The Sec10 retary shall issue a range of performance measures, 

11 with quantifiable benchmarks, and methodologies 

12 that eligible entities may use to evaluate the effec13 tiveness of each type of activity in making progress 

14 toward the strategic objectives described in sub15 section (d)(2)(D). Such measures shall consider the 

16 benefits of the industry or sector partnership and its 

17 activities for workers, firms, industries, and commu18 nities. 

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

20 Secretary shall— 

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

22 eligible entity receiving a grant under this sec23 tion and produce an overview report that, at a 

24 minimum, includes— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the critical learning of each in2 dustry or sector partnership, such as— 

3 ‘‘(I) the training that was most 

4 effective; 

5 ‘‘(II) the human resource chal6 lenges that were most common; 

7 ‘‘(III) how technology is changing 

8 the targeted industry cluster; and 

9 ‘‘(IV) the changes that may im10 pact the targeted industry cluster over 

11 the next 5 years; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) a description of what eligible en13 tities serving similar targeted industry 

14 clusters consider exemplary practices, such 

15 as— 

16 ‘‘(I) how to work effectively with 

17 postsecondary educational institutions; 

18 ‘‘(II) the use of internships; 

19 ‘‘(III) coordinating with appren20 ticeships and cooperative education 

21 programs; 

22 ‘‘(IV) how to work effectively 

23 with schools providing vocational edu24 cation; 


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1 ‘‘(V) how to work effectively with 

2 adult populations, including— 

3 ‘‘(aa) dislocated workers; 

4 ‘‘(bb) women in nontradi5 tional occupations; and 

6 ‘‘(cc) individuals with bar7 riers to employment, such as job 

8 seekers who— 

9 ‘‘(AA) are economically 

10 disadvantaged; 

11 ‘‘(BB) have limited 

12 English proficiency; 

13 ‘‘(CC) require remedial 

14 education; 

15 ‘‘(DD) are older work16 ers; 

17 ‘‘(EE) are individuals 

18 who have completed a sen19 tence for a criminal offense; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(FF) have other bar22 riers to employment; 

23 ‘‘(VI) employer practices that are 

24 most effective; 


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1 ‘‘(VII) the types of training that 

2 are most effective; 

3 ‘‘(VIII) other areas where indus4 try or sector partnerships can assist 

5 each other; and 

6 ‘‘(IX) alignment of curricula to 

7 nationally portable, industry-recog8 nized credentials in the sectors where 

9 they are available or, if not available 

10 for the sector, other credentials, as 

11 described in the application under 

12 subsection (d)(2)(E); 

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

14 reports published and all data collected under 

15 this section, available on the Internet; and 

16 ‘‘(C) conduct conferences and seminars 

17 to— 

18 ‘‘(i) disseminate information on best 

19 practices developed by eligible entities re20 ceiving a grant under this section; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) provide information to the com22 munities of eligible entities. 

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

24 the date of enactment of the Strengthening Employ25 ment Clusters to Organize Regional Success Act of 


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1 2011, and on an annual basis thereafter, the Sec2 retary shall transmit a report to Congress on the in3 dustry or sector partnership grant program estab4 lished by this section. The report shall include a de5 scription of— 

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

7 ‘‘(B) the activities carried out by the eligi8 ble entities; 

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

10 to receive funding under this section; and 

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

12 by the grant program including findings from 

13 the annual reviews described in paragraph 

14 (4)(A). 

15 ‘‘(i) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec16 tion shall be construed to permit the reporting or sharing 

17 of personally identifiable information collected or made 

18 available under this section.’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con20 tents in section 1(b) of the Workforce Investment Act of 

21 1998 (20 U.S.C. 9201 note) is amended by inserting after 

22 the item relating to section 171 the following: 

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

Æ 


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