SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Innovations in Men-
toring, Training, and Apprenticeships Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) To remain competitive in the global econ-
omy, foster greater innovation, and provide a foun-
dation for shared prosperity, the United States 
needs a workforce with the right mix of skills to 
meet the diverse needs of the economy. 
(2) Evidence indicates that the returns on in-
vestments in technical skills in the labor market are 
strong when students successfully complete their 
education and gain credentials sought by employers. 
(3) The responsibility for developing and sus-
taining a skilled technical workforce is fragmented 
across many groups, including educators, students, 
workers, employers, Federal, State, and local govern-
ments, civic associations, and other stakeholders. 
Such groups need to be able to coordinate and co-
operate successfully with each other. 
(4) Coordination among students, community 
colleges, secondary and post-secondary institutions, 
and employers would improve educational outcomes.
(5) Promising experiments currently underway 
may guide innovation and reform, but scalability of 
some of those experiments has not yet been tested. 
(6) Evidence suggests that integration of aca-
demic education, technical skills development, and 
hands-on work experience improves outcomes and re-
turn on investment for students in secondary and 
post-secondary education and for skilled technical 
workers in different career stages. 
(7) Outcomes show that mentoring can increase 
STEM student engagement and the rate of comple-
tion of STEM post-secondary degrees. 
SEC. 3. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION STEM INNOVA-
TION AND APPRENTICESHIP GRANTS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the National 
Science Foundation shall award competitive grants to eli-
gible entities in accordance with this section. 
(b) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this section, the 
Director shall consult and cooperate with the programs 
and policies of other relevant Federal agencies to avoid 
duplication with, and enhance the effectiveness of, the pro-
vision of grants under this section. 
(c) GRANTS FOR ASSOCIATE DEGREE PROGRAMS IN 
STEM FIELDS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 
Science Foundation shall award competitive grants 
to community colleges to develop or improve asso-
ciate or certificate programs in STEM fields in, with 
respect to the region in which the respective college 
is located, an in-demand industry sector or occupa-
tion (as defined in section 3(23)) of the Workforce 
Innovation 
and 
Opportunity 
Act 
(29 
U.S.C. 
3102(23))). 
(2) APPLICATION.—In considering applications 
for grants under paragraph (1), the Director shall 
prioritize— 
(A) applicants that consist of a partnership 
between the applying community college and in-
dividual employers or an employer consortia, or 
industry or sector partnerships, and may in-
clude a university or other organization with 
demonstrated expertise in academic program 
development; 
(B) applications that demonstrate current 
and future workforce demand in occupations di-
rectly related to the proposed associate degree 
or certificate program; 
(C) applications that include commitments 
by the partnering employers or employer con-
sortia, or industry or sector partnerships, to 
offer apprenticeships, internships or other ap-
plied learning opportunities to students enrolled 
in the proposed associate degree program; 
(D) applications that include outreach 
plans and goals for recruiting and enrolling 
women and other historically underrepresented 
individuals in STEM studies and careers in the 
proposed associate degree program; and 
(E) applications that describe how the ap-
plying community college will support the col-
lection of information and data for purposes of 
evaluation of the proposed associate degree pro-
gram. 
(3) FUNDING.—The National Science Founda-
tion shall devote not less than $20,000,000 to 
awards described in this subsection, which shall in-
clude not less than $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2018 through 2021, subject to the availability 
of appropriations, to come from amounts made avail-
able for the Education and Human Resources Direc-
torate. This subsection shall be carried out using 
funds otherwise appropriated by law after the date 
of enactment of this Act.
(d) GRANTS FOR STEM DEGREE APPLIED LEARN-
ING OPPORTUNITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 
Science Foundation shall award competitive grants 
to institutions of higher education partnering with 
employers or employer consortia, or industry or sec-
tor partnerships, that commit to offering apprentice-
ships, internships, research opportunities, or applied 
learning experiences to enrolled university students 
in identified STEM baccalaureate degree programs. 
(2) APPLICATION.—In considering applications 
for grants under paragraph (1), the Director shall 
prioritize— 
(A) applicants that consist of a partnership 
between— 
(I) the applying university; and 
(ii) individual employers or an em-
ployer consortia, or industry or sector part-
nerships; 
(B) applications that demonstrate current 
and future workforce demand in occupations di-
rectly related to selected STEM fields; 
(C) applications that include outreach 
plans and goals for recruiting and enrolling
women and other populations historically under-
represented in STEM; and 
(D) applications that describe how the uni-
versity will support the collection and informa-
tion of data for purposes of the evaluation of 
identified STEM degree programs. 
(3) FUNDING.—The National Science Founda-
tion shall devote not less than $10,000,000 to 
awards described in this subsection, which shall in-
clude not less than $2,500,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2018 through 2021, subject to the availability 
of appropriations, to come from amounts made avail-
able for the Education and Human Resources Direc-
torate. This subsection shall be carried out using 
funds otherwise appropriated by law after the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
(e) GRANTS FOR COMPUTER-BASED AND ONLINE 
STEM EDUCATION COURSES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 
Science Foundation shall award competitive grants 
to institutions of higher education or nonprofit orga-
nizations to conduct research on student outcomes 
and determine best practices for STEM education 
and technical skills education through distance 
learning or in a simulated work environment.
(2) RESEARCH AREAS.—The research areas eli-
gible for funding under this subsection may in-
clude— 
(A) post-secondary courses for technical 
skills development for STEM occupations; 
(B) improving high-school level career and 
technical education in STEM subjects; 
(C) encouraging and sustaining interest 
and achievement levels in STEM subjects 
among women and other populations histori-
cally underrepresented in STEM studies and 
careers; and 
(D) combining computer-based and online 
STEM education and skills development with 
traditional mentoring and other mentoring ar-
rangements, apprenticeships, internships, and 
other applied learning opportunities. 
(3) FUNDING.—The National Science Founda-
tion shall devote not less than $10,000,000 to 
awards described in this subsection, which shall in-
clude not less than $2,500,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2018 through 2021, subject to the availability 
of appropriations, to come from amounts made avail-
able for the Education and Human Resources Direc-
torate. This subsection shall be carried out using
funds otherwise appropriated by law after the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 4. RESEARCH ON EFFICIENCY OF SKILLED TECH-
NICAL LABOR MARKETS. 
(a) EFFICIENCY
OF SKILLED TECHNICAL LABOR 
MARKETS.—The Directorate of Social, Behavioral & Eco-
nomic Sciences of the National Science Foundation, in co-
ordination with the Secretary of Labor, shall support re-
search on labor market analysis innovations, data and in-
formation sciences, electronic information tools and meth-
odologies, and metrics. 
(b) COMPARISON
OF
UNITED
STATES
WORK-
FORCE.— 
(1) RESEARCH.—The National Science Founda-
tion shall commission research that compares and 
contrasts skilled technical workforce development be-
tween States and regions within the United States 
and other developed countries, including the diver-
sity of skilled technical and professional workforces, 
to the extent feasible. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the 
National Science Foundation shall submit to Con-
gress a report on the results of the study under 
paragraph (1).
(c) SKILLED TECHNICAL WORKFORCE.— 
(1) REVIEW.—The National Center for Science 
and Engineering Statistics of the National Science 
Foundation shall consult and coordinate with other 
relevant Federal statistical agencies, including the 
Institution of Education Science, and the Committee 
on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathe-
matics Education, to explore the feasibility of ex-
panding its surveys to include the collection of objec-
tive data on the skilled technical workforce. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the 
National Science Foundation shall submit to Con-
gress a report containing the progress made in ex-
panding the National Center for Science and Engi-
neering Statistics surveys to include the skilled tech-
nical workforce. Such report shall include a plan for 
multi-agency collaboration in order to effect data 
collection and reporting of data on the skilled tech-
nical workforce. 
SEC. 5. SPENDING LIMITATION. 
No additional funds are authorized to be appro-
priated to carry out this Act and the amendments made 
by this Act, and this Act and such amendments shall be
carried out using amounts otherwise available for such 
purpose. 
SEC. 6. EVALUATION AND REPORT. 
(a) EVALUATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 
the National Science Foundation shall evaluate the 
grants and programs provided under this Act. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting the evalua-
tion under paragraph (1), the Director shall — 
(A) use a common set of benchmarks and 
assessment tools to identify best practices and 
materials developed or demonstrated by the re-
search conducted pursuant to such grants and 
programs; 
(B) include an assessment of the effective-
ness of the grant programs established under 
this Act in expanding apprenticeships, intern-
ships, and other applied learning opportunities 
offered by employers in conjunction with com-
munity colleges and institutions of higher edu-
cation; 
(C) assess the number of students who 
participated in programs established under or 
pursuant to this Act;
(D) assess the percentage of students par-
ticipating in programs established under or pur-
suant to this Act who successfully complete 
their education program; and 
(E) assess the median earnings of students 
who have completed a program with respect to 
which a grant was awarded under section 3(c), 
as of the date that is two calendar quarters 
after completing the program, as practicable. 
(b) REPORT ON EVALUATIONS.—Not later than 180 
days after the completion of the evaluation under sub-
section (a), the Director of the National Science Founda-
tion shall submit to Congress and make widely available 
to the public a report that includes— 
(1) the results of the evaluation; and 
(2) any recommendations for legislative action 
that could optimize the effectiveness of the grants 
and programs under this Act. 
(c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, the 
Director of the Foundation shall consult the programs and 
policies of other relevant Federal agencies to avoid dupli-
cation with, and enhance the effectiveness of, the grants 
and programs under this Act. 
(d) SUBMISSION TO SECRETARY OF EDUCATION.— 
On the date on which the report is submitted under sub-
section (b), the Director of the National Science Founda-
tion shall also submit to the Secretary of Education a copy 
of the report. 
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means science, 
technology, engineering, and mathematics, including 
computer science. 
(2) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘‘commu-
nity college’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘junior 
and community college’’ in section 312 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058). 
(3) REGION.—The term ‘‘region’’ means a labor 
market area, as such term is defined in section 3 of 
the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 
U.S.C. 3102). 
(4) SKILLED
TECHNICAL
WORKFORCE.—The 
term ‘‘skilled technical workforce’’ means workers 
with high school diplomas and two-year technical