I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9674 
To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to direct the Sec-
retary of Labor to carry out a competitive grant program to support 
community colleges and career and technical education centers in devel-
oping immersive technology education and training programs for work-
force development, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 22, 2022 
Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 
to direct the Secretary of Labor to carry out a competi-
tive grant program to support community colleges and 
career and technical education centers in developing 
immersive technology education and training programs 
for workforce development, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Immersive Technology 
for the American Workforce Act of 2022’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Rural communities have unique workforce 
considerations and challenges. 
(2) Almost 25 percent of Americans live in 
rural communities, and while urban areas have expe-
rienced job and population growth, rural commu-
nities face static or declining populations and job de-
cline. 
(3) Rural communities were hit harder and re-
covered more slowly than urban centers during the 
2007–2008 recession and have experienced more 
economic depression and decline in college enroll-
ment due to the COVID–19 pandemic. 
(4) Rural communities historically have lower 
rates of postsecondary education, which is a barrier 
to traditional employment in industries like agri-
culture and manufacturing. 
(5) It is estimated that by the end of 2022 over 
half of all employees will require ‘‘significant’’ 
reskilling, which is less expensive than replacing an 
individual employee. 
(6) Immersive technologies are proving effective 
in helping rural communities tackle these challenges. 
(7) Technologically mediated training, including 
augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, and 
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high-tech simulations are increasingly valued as tools 
to train workers in industries ranging from manu-
facturing to health care, agriculture to construction, 
and clean energy to public safety. 
(8) Use of immersive technology permits on-site 
training and continued education, promotes effi-
ciency, aids recruiting as well as retention, improves 
communication and collaboration, and increases 
safety. 
(9) Immersive technologies allow workers to 
train directly under the supervision and tutelage of 
more experienced experts who are located outside of 
the local community. 
(10) These technologies help workers remain 
well equipped for the demands of the modern econ-
omy. As the need for reskilling increases, so will the 
need for technologies which support American work-
ers rather than replace them. 
(11) Community colleges, area career and tech-
nical education centers, and other training providers 
are uniquely positioned to support rural communities 
in skills development and workforce training. 
(12) People without a postsecondary credential 
are 4 times more likely to have a job that can be 
lost to automation than those who have one, increas-
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ing their need to learn new skills in order to remain 
competitive and employable. 
(13) Community colleges provide education at a 
lower cost, with most graduates incurring no student 
debt. 
(14) In addition to providing lower cost work-
force development training and skills education ap-
plicable across a range of roles and occupations, 
community colleges serve as large regional employers 
and critical community hubs. 
(15) Offering grants to community colleges and 
area career and technical education centers in rural 
areas to develop and provide immersive technology 
training programs will help rural communities in the 
short term and position them for success in the 
longer term. 
(16) Despite their proven value, community col-
leges and area career and technical education 
schools bear significant funding limitations and 
shortages. 
(17) Providing immersive technology training 
programs through community colleges can help rural 
communities retain local talent, whether by pro-
viding qualification for new local jobs or for remote 
employment 
opportunities 
with 
companies 
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headquartered in urban centers that are struggling 
to fill jobs. 
(18) Immersive technology training partnership 
with community colleges and area career and tech-
nical education schools also complements recent 
Federal funding for broadband connection and phys-
ical infrastructure, the two other biggest hurdles fac-
ing rural students and workers seeking reskilling or 
upskilling. 
SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY AND EDU-
CATION WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAMS 
AND CAREER PATHWAYS. 
Subtitle D of title I of the Workforce Innovation and 
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3221 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating section 172 as section 173; 
and 
(2) by inserting after section 171 the following: 
‘‘SEC. 172. GRANTS FOR IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY AND 
EDUCATION 
WORKFORCE 
TRAINING 
PRO-
GRAMS AND CAREER PATHWAYS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 
date of enactment of this section, from the amounts appro-
priated to carry out this section, the Secretary shall award 
grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to carry 
out immersive technology education and workforce train-
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ing programs or career pathways that use immersive tech-
nology. 
‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiving a 
grant under this section shall use such grant for at least 
one of the following: 
‘‘(1) To develop and implement or improve an 
immersive technology education and workforce train-
ing program, or a related policy, program, or other 
activity that uses immersive technology that— 
‘‘(A) facilitates the transfer of academic 
credits (including for courses in the same field 
or program of study) between covered commu-
nity colleges and other institutions of higher 
education, including other covered community 
colleges; and 
‘‘(B) develops or enhances supportive serv-
ices for students enrolled in such a program or 
activity. 
‘‘(2) The creation or alignment of a career 
pathway that provides a sequence of education and 
occupational training that leads to a recognized 
postsecondary credential, including a program or ac-
tivity that— 
‘‘(A)(i) includes integrated education and 
training that uses immersive technology; and 
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‘‘(ii) is designed to increase the provision 
of workforce training for students (including in-
dividuals who are members of the Armed 
Forces and veterans) in order to facilitate the 
entry of such students into in-demand industry 
sectors or occupations; or 
‘‘(B) enables the training of instructors in 
the use of immersive technology in education 
and workforce training programs. 
‘‘(c) DURATION
OF GRANTS.—A grant awarded 
under this section shall be for a period of not more than 
5 years, except that in the case of an eligible entity that 
has carried out a program or activity with such a grant 
that meets the criteria for satisfactory progress on per-
formance indicators as determined under subsection (h)(1) 
for the initial 5-year grant period, the Secretary may ex-
tend the grant period for such eligible entity by not more 
than 5 additional years. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity seeking a 
grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary an 
application at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Secretary may require. 
‘‘(e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall give priority to any eligible entity 
that— 
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‘‘(1) is working with, or in carrying out a pro-
gram or activity to be funded with such a grant 
plans to work with, an industry or sector partner-
ship that prioritizes the hiring of individuals who 
have obtained a recognized postsecondary credential 
as a result of the program or activity; or 
‘‘(2) submits an application under subsection 
(d) that demonstrates— 
‘‘(A) alignment with— 
‘‘(i) the State plan under section 102 
or 103 of a State in which the eligible enti-
ty will be carrying out a program or activ-
ity to be funded with such a grant; 
‘‘(ii) the local plan under section 108 
of a local area in which such a program or 
activity will be carried out; or 
‘‘(iii) the State plan under section 122 
of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech-
nical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 
2342) with respect to a State in which 
such a program or activity will be carried 
out; 
‘‘(B) with quantitative data and evidence, 
the extent to which the program or activity to 
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be funded by such a grant will meet the needs 
of employers; 
‘‘(C) how such a program or activity will 
target a specific in-demand industry sector or 
occupation which has a skills gap; 
‘‘(D) how such a program or activity will 
retrain workers from an industry sector that is 
experiencing decreasing employment; 
‘‘(E) how such a program or activity will 
target individuals with barriers to employment; 
‘‘(F) how such a program or activity will 
serve an area of substantial unemployment (as 
defined in section 132(b)(1)(B)); or 
‘‘(G) how such a program or activity will 
serve a rural area. 
‘‘(f) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(1) REPORT TO THE SECRETARY.—Each eligi-
ble entity receiving a grant under this section shall 
submit to the Secretary a report for each year of the 
grant period for such grant that includes a descrip-
tion of each program and activity funded under the 
grant, including— 
‘‘(A) the levels of performance achieved for 
each indicator of performance under section 
116(b)(2)(A)(i), disaggregated by age, race or 
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ethnicity, gender, barrier to employment, and 
income of the participants of such program or 
activity; and 
‘‘(B) in a case of an eligible entity that 
worked with an industry or sector partnership 
in carrying out such a program or activity, the 
role of such partnership in carrying out the pro-
gram or activity. 
‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 
year after the first grant is awarded under this sec-
tion and biennially thereafter, the Secretary shall 
submit to Congress a report that includes a sum-
mary of the information submitted under paragraph 
(1) for the most recent 2-year period. 
‘‘(g) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall reserve not 
less than 1 percent and not more than 5 percent of any 
amounts made available for each fiscal year to conduct 
a rigorous, independent evaluation of the programs and 
activities carried out under this section. 
‘‘(h) SATISFACTORY PROGRESS.— 
‘‘(1) DETERMINATION OF CRITERIA.—The Sec-
retary, in coordination with the Secretary of Edu-
cation, shall determine the criteria for satisfactory 
progress on the indicators of performance under sec-
tion 116(b)(2)(A)(i) for programs and activities 
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funded by grants awarded to eligible entities under 
this section. 
‘‘(2) CESSATION
OF
FUNDS.—The Secretary 
may not provide funds to any eligible entity under 
a grant under this section after the third year of the 
grant period unless each program and activity car-
ried out by the eligible entity with the grant has met 
the criteria for satisfactory progress for the first 3 
years of such grant period, as determined under 
paragraph (1). 
‘‘(i) BEST PRACTICES.—The Secretary, in coordina-
tion with the Secretary of Education and each eligible en-
tity that receives funds under grants awarded under this 
section after the third year of the grant periods for such 
grants, shall— 
‘‘(1) 
establish 
best 
practices 
for 
using 
immersive technology in workforce training and edu-
cation programs; and 
‘‘(2) publish such best practices on a publicly 
available website of the Department of Labor. 
‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) COVERED
COMMUNITY
COLLEGE.—The 
term ‘covered community college’ means— 
‘‘(A) a public institution of higher edu-
cation (as defined in section 101(a) of the 
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