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 ‘‘Innovations in Men-
toring, Training, and Apprenticeships Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) To remain competitive in the global economy, 
foster greater innovation, and provide a foundation 
for shared prosperity, the United States needs a work-
force with the right mix of skills to meet the diverse 
needs of the economy. 
(2) Evidence indicates that the returns on invest-
ments in technical skills in the labor market are 
strong when students successfully complete their 
training 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; labor organizations; and civic associations. 
Such groups need to be able to coordinate and cooper-
ate successfully with each other. 
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(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 training, and hands-on 
work experience improves outcomes and return on in-
vestment for students in secondary and post-sec-
ondary education and for skilled technical workers in 
different career stages. 
(7) Outcomes show that mentoring can increase 
STEM student engagement and the rate of completion 
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 eligi-
ble applicants 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 duplica-
tion with, and enhance the effectiveness of, the provision 
of grants under this section. 
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(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 associate 
degree and certificate programs in STEM fields in 
which there is significant workforce demand in the re-
gion of the community college receiving the award 
and a need to strengthen the global competitiveness of 
affected companies. 
(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 include 
a university or other organization with dem-
onstrated expertise in academic program devel-
opment; 
(B) applications that demonstrate current 
and future workforce demand in occupations di-
rectly related to the proposed associate degree or 
certificate program. 
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(C) applications that include commitments 
by the partnering employers or employer con-
sortia, or industry or sector partnerships to offer 
apprenticeships, internships or other applied 
learning opportunities to students enrolled in the 
proposed associate degree program; and 
(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. 
(3) FUNDING.—The National Science Founda-
tion shall devote not less than $20,000,000 to awards 
described in this subsection, which shall include not 
less than $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 
through 2021, subject to the availability of appropria-
tions, to come from amounts made available for the 
Education and Human Resources Directorate. 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 LEARNING 
OPPORTUNITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 
Science Foundation shall award competitive grants to 
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universities partnering with employers or employer 
consortia, or industry or sector partnerships that 
commit to offering apprenticeships, internships, re-
search opportunities, or applied learning experiences 
to enrolled university students in identified four-year 
STEM 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; and 
(C) applications that include outreach 
plans and goals for recruiting and enrolling 
women and other populations historically under-
represented in STEM. 
(3) FUNDING.—The National Science Founda-
tion shall devote not less than $10,000,000 to awards 
described in this subsection, which shall include not 
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