II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3461 

To evaluate certain skills certification programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 10, 2008 

Mr. FEINGOLD introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

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

A BILL 

To evaluate certain skills certification programs, 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 ‘‘Skills Standards Cer5 tification Evaluation Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Various entities across the United States 

9 have generated skills certification programs based on 

10 local and regional needs. At the same time, some na11 tional groups have engaged in similar efforts. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
2 

•S 3461 IS

1 (2) As State and local workforce investment 

2 boards, workers, and employers search for a mean3 ingful way to categorize skills, information about ex4 isting skills certification programs and certifications 

5 can be limited, and may lead to the development of 

6 new, duplicative certifications. 

7 (3) As these skill certification programs may 

8 take less time than technical or vocational degrees, 

9 the programs provide important recognition for both 

10 employers and employees. 

11 (4) Nationally available, recognized standards 

12 for skills certification allow employers and employees 

13 the greatest possible flexibility by making the certifi14 cation portable and meaningful. 

15 (5) These standards benefit both incumbent, 

16 highly skilled workers and those workers with less 

17 specialized skills or just starting in the workforce. 

18 (6) Widely recognized standards for skills cer19 tification provide States, regions, communities, and 

20 cities the option and ability to quantify and cat21 egorize their workforce in a meaningful way. 

22 (7) There is a well-documented ‘‘skills gap’’ in 

23 many industries, including manufacturing, that 

24 makes it difficult for employers to find workers. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
3 

•S 3461 IS

1 (8) In 2005, 90 percent of manufacturing em2 ployers say a shortage of qualified production work3 ers is their top workforce issue. 

4 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

5 The purposes of this Act are— 

6 (1) to periodically evaluate skills certification 

7 programs that certify various employee skills and to 

8 determine which skills certifications are most desired 

9 by employers and employees; and 

10 (2) to make information, and materials if pos11 sible, about skills certification programs available to 

12 eligible entities providing job training. 

13 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) LOCAL BOARD.—The term ‘‘local board’’ 

16 means a local workforce investment board estab17 lished under section 117 of the Workforce Invest18 ment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2832). 

19 (2) SKILLS CERTIFICATION PROGRAM.—The 

20 term ‘‘skills certification program’’ means an indus21 try-led or industry-created program that— 

22 (A) receives Federal funding; 

23 (B) is in existence as of the time that the 

24 evaluation under section 5 is conducted; 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
4 

•S 3461 IS

1 (C) delineates a skill set necessary for a 

2 career in a certain industry; 

3 (D) does not culminate in an associate or 

4 baccalaureate degree; and 

5 (E) is not portable or widely or nationally 

6 recognized. 

7 (3) STATE BOARD.—The term ‘‘State board’’ 

8 means a State workforce investment board estab9 lished under section 111 of the Workforce Invest10 ment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2821). 

11 SEC. 5. EVALUATION. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor and 

14 the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with each 

15 other, shall— 

16 (1) conduct an evaluation of skills certification 

17 programs; 

18 (2)(A) determine best practices models for skills 

19 certification programs; or 

20 (B) rank the skills certification programs avail21 able in an industry, based on the evaluation criteria 

22 described in subsection (b); and 

23 (3) make recommendations on— 

24 (A) the merits of a unified national ap25 proach to programs of skills certification, as 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
5 

•S 3461 IS

1 compared to multiple regional and local skills 

2 certification programs; and 

3 (B) ways to streamline, if possible, duplica4 tive and similar skills certification programs 

5 into a single, widely recognized certification. 

6 (b) CRITERIA FOR EVALUATIONS.—The evaluation of 

7 the skills certification programs conducted under sub8 section (a)(1) shall include the following criteria: 

9 (1) Overall usefulness of the skills certification 

10 program for workers and employers. 

11 (2) The demand from industry for workers with 

12 the skills provided and certified through the skills 

13 certification program. 

14 (3) Industry involvement in the development of 

15 the skill standards included in the skills certification 

16 program. 

17 (4) Industry recognition of the certification 

18 awarded under the skills certification program. 

19 (5) The success of the skills certification pro20 gram, based on criteria including— 

21 (A) how many individuals have successfully 

22 completed the skills certification program; 

23 (B) how many of such individuals are em24 ployed in a field utilizing the skills provided and 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
6 

•S 3461 IS

1 certified through the skills certification pro2 gram; and 

3 (C) the length of time that such individ4 uals have been so employed. 

5 (6) The level of recognition of the skills certifi6 cation program as of the time of the evaluation, in7 cluding an assessment of — 

8 (A) how widespread the skills certification 

9 program is used; 

10 (B) the number of entities, including State 

11 boards, local boards, and institutions of higher 

12 education, that have used the skills certification 

13 program; 

14 (C) the number of States in which the cer15 tification is recognized; and 

16 (D) whether the skills provided and cer17 tified through the skills certification program 

18 are reasonably useful. 

19 (7) Cooperative creation in the development of 

20 the skills certification program, such as whether the 

21 standards of the skills certification program were 

22 created in consultation with relevant partners, in23 cluding business, labor, and community organiza24 tions, and whether such partners still support and 

25 use the standards. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
7 

•S 3461 IS

1 (8) The ease of sharing the skills certification 

2 program, including how portable the materials are, 

3 how versatile the materials are, and whether the cer4 tification programs requires the educator to have ac5 cess to specific or extensive materials or equipment 

6 not usually found in a classroom. 

7 (c) OUTREACH.—Not later than 60 days after the 

8 evaluation described in subsection (a) has been completed, 

9 the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Labor, 

10 in consultation with each other, shall— 

11 (1) post the results of the evaluation, the rank12 ing of skills certification programs or the best prac13 tices of such programs, and the recommendations, as 

14 described in subsection (a), on the Internet; and 

15 (2) make the information described in para16 graph (1) available in print form to Congress and to 

17 interested parties, including— 

18 (A) technical colleges; 

19 (B) community colleges; 

20 (C) State boards and local boards; 

21 (D) community organizations; and 

22 (E) other groups providing worker train23 ing, in partnership and cooperation with indus24 try. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
8 

•S 3461 IS

1 (d) UPDATES.—The Secretary of Commerce and the 

2 Secretary of Labor, in consultation with each other, shall 

3 continue to update the evaluations, the rankings of skills 

4 certification programs or best practices of such programs, 

5 and the recommendations, as described in subsection (a), 

6 as appropriate, but not less often than once every 2 years. 

7 (e) FUNDING.—Of the amounts appropriated to, and 

8 available at the discretion of, the Secretary of Commerce 

9 and the Secretary of Labor for programmatic and admin10 istrative expenditures, such sums as may be necessary 

11 shall be used to establish and carry out the requirements 

12 of this Act. 

Æ 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS