Community-Based Workforce Development Act

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to award grants to States to develop, convene, or expand industry or sector partnerships, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Community-Based Workforce Development Act 2. Sectoral employment through career training for occupational readiness (sector) program Subtitle D of title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3221 et seq. 173. Sectoral employment through career training for occupational readiness (sector) program (a) In general From amounts appropriated under subsection (e)(1), and not reserved under subsection (e)(2), the Secretary shall— (1) use not less than 80 percent of such amounts to award grants under subsection (b) to each State to develop, convene, or expand industry or sector partnerships; and (2) use not less than 20 percent of such amounts to award grants under subsection (c), on a competitive basis, to eligible industry or sector partnerships for the purposes of expanding workforce development and employment opportunities for high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors or occupations, as determined by the Secretary. (b) Formula grants (1) Distribution of funds (A) State allotment From the amount determined by the Secretary under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall allot funds to each State on the basis of the relative allotment the State received under section 132(b) for such fiscal year, compared to the total amount allotted to all States under section 132(b) for such fiscal year. (B) Local area allocations The Secretary shall use the amounts allotted under subparagraph (A) to distribute funds in the State to carry out the activities described in paragraph (2) by— (i) allocating funds to each local area of the State on the basis of the relative allocation the local area received under section 133(b) for such fiscal year, compared to the total amount allocated to all local areas in the State under section 133(b) for such fiscal year; or (ii) allocating funds to local areas of the State that have the highest rates of unemployment or poverty, or the highest numbers of individuals with barriers to employment in the State. (C) Transfer authority A local board may transfer, if such a transfer is approved by the Governor, up to and including 100 percent of the funds allocated to the local area under section 133(b), and up to and including 100 percent of the funds allocated to the local area under this subsection for a fiscal year between— (i) adult employment and training activities; and (ii) activities under this section. (2) Use of funds The funds awarded under paragraph (1) may be used to— (A) regularly convene stakeholders in a collaborative structure to identify, develop, improve, or expand training, employment, and growth opportunities for high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors or occupations; (B) form, expand, and improve training programs, to be managed by eligible industry and sector partnerships that include attainment of industry-recognized credentials, the integration of work-based learning activities with training curricula and occupational certification programs, and that address specific workforce issues and needs of groups of workers, with a priority on individuals with a barrier to employment, within regional labor markets in the State; (C) strengthen the coordination of eligible industry and sector partnerships and programs with the programs administered under subtitle B of this title and with the one-stop partners described in section 121; and (D) to directly provide, or arrange for the provision of, services to help individuals with barriers to employment and other participants complete and successfully transition out of training described in subparagraph (B), which services shall include career services, supportive services, or the provision of needs-related payments. (c) Competitive grants (1) Grants authorized From the amount determined by the Secretary under subsection (a)(2), the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible industry or sector partnerships for the purposes described in subsection (a)(2). (2) Application (A) Form and procedure To receive a grant under this subsection, the lead applicant on behalf of an eligible industry or sector partnership shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as specified by the Secretary. (B) Contents An application submitted under paragraph (1) shall contain at a minimum the following: (i) Identification of the high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sector or occupation on which such partnership is focused. (ii) A description of the activities to be carried out under the grant. (iii) A description of the workers that will be targeted for recruitment as program participants, how a priority of service under the grant will be provided to individuals with barriers to employment, and how the activities will be designed to maximize access and eliminate barriers to entry to training and other activities for such individuals. (iv) A description of other Federal or non-Federal resources that will be leveraged in support of the eligible industry or sector partnership (including cash or in-kind contributions from private-sector partners). (3) Uses of funds An eligible industry or sector partnership awarded a grant under this subsection shall use such grant funds— (A) to engage and regularly convene stakeholders in a collaborative structure to identify, develop, improve, or expand training, employment, and growth opportunities for the high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sector or occupation on which such partnership is focused; (B) to directly provide, or arrange for the provision of, high-quality, evidence-based training for high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors or occupations on which such partnership is focused, which shall include training that leads to the attainment of nationally or regionally portable and stackable recognized postsecondary credentials for the industry sector or occupations described in paragraph (A), including— (i) training provided through apprenticeship programs, or pre-apprenticeship programs that articulate to apprenticeship programs, labor organizations, or joint labor-management partnerships; (ii) on-the-job training, customized training, and paid internships and work experience; (iii) incumbent worker training to support lower wage workers in upgrading skills and advancing along a career pathway; and (iv) training services, in addition to those described in clauses (i) through (iii), that are authorized under section 134(c)(3)(D), including occupational skills training; and (C) to directly provide, or arrange for the provision of, services to help individuals with barriers to employment and other participants complete and successfully transition out of training described in subparagraph (B), which services shall include career services, supportive services, or the provision of needs-related payments authorized under subsections (c)(2), (c)(4), and (d)(3) of section 134. (4) Priority in selection of grants The Secretary shall give priority consideration in applications that demonstrate the ability to serve eligible individuals in targeted economic regions that are experiencing high poverty, have traditionally been underserved by regional economic development and sector partnership activities (including rural areas), or is facing or at risk of facing significant worker dislocation due to a disruption or change in the regional or State economy or labor market. (d) Program accountability and evaluation (1) In general The grants awarded under this section are subject to— (A) the primary indicators of performance under section 116(b)(2)(A) and expected levels of performance relating to such indicators; and (B) such additional measures as the Secretary deems appropriate, which may include skills attainment, wage or career progression, training-related employment, and additional job quality measures. (2) Evaluation Not later than 5 years after the first award of funds under this section is made the Secretary (acting through the chief evaluation officer) shall design and conduct an evaluation to evaluate the effectiveness of the program carried out this section. (3) Publication The Secretary shall publish the outcomes of grantees under the indicators and measures described in paragraph (1) and the evaluation described in paragraph (2) on a publicly accessible website, and submit the evaluation findings to the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. (e) Authorization of appropriations; reservations (1) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section— (A) $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; (B) $1,100,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; (C) $1,210,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; (D) $1,331,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; (E) $1,464,100,000 for fiscal year 2027; and (F) $1,610,510,000 for fiscal year 2028. (2) Reservation of funds Of the funds appropriated under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the Secretary may reserve not more than 5 percent which— (A) may be used for administration of the program described in this section, in addition to any other funds available for these activities, including providing comprehensive technical assistance, targeted outreach to eligible partnerships serving local areas with high unemployment rates or high percentages of low-income individuals or individuals with barriers to employment; and oversight to support eligible partnerships; and (B) shall be used to conduct an evaluation of the activities carried out under this section and for reporting on the performance and impact of programs funded under this section. (f) Definitions In this section: (1) Eligible industry or sector partnership The term eligible industry or sector partnership (A) an industry or sector partnership, which shall include multiple representatives described in each of clauses (i) through (iii) of paragraph (26)(A) of section 3; or (B) a partnership of multiple entities described in section 3(26) and a State board or local board, that is in the process of establishing an industry or sector partnership. (2) Lead applicant The term lead applicant . 3. Table of contents The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 172, the following: Sec. 173. Sectoral employment through career training for occupational readiness (sector) program. .

Summary: Community-Based Workforce Development Act This bill provides grants to expand workforce training programs for high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors.