‘‘(iv) research studies on industry 
clusters; and 
‘‘(B) working with appropriate employment 
agencies, workforce investment boards, eco-
nomic development agencies, community organi-
zations, and other organizations that the eligi-
ble entity determines necessary to ensure that 
the targeted industry cluster identified under 
subparagraph (A) should be targeted for invest-
ment, based primarily on the following criteria: 
‘‘(i) Demonstrated demand for job 
growth potential. 
‘‘(ii) Employment base. 
‘‘(iii) Wages and benefits. 
‘‘(iv) Demonstrated importance of the 
targeted industry cluster to the area’s 
economy. 
‘‘(v) Workforce development needs. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity desiring 
to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 
application to the Secretary at such time, in such 
manner, and containing such information as the Sec-
retary may require. An application submitted under 
this paragraph shall contain, at a minimum, the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(A) A description of the eligible entity, 
evidence of the eligible entity’s capacity to carry 
out activities in support of the strategic objec-
tives identified in the application under sub-
paragraph (D), and a description of the ex-
pected participation and responsibilities of each 
of the mandatory partners described in sub-
section (b)(8)(A). 
‘‘(B) A description of the targeted industry 
cluster for which the eligible entity intends to 
carry out activities through a grant under this 
section, and a description of how such targeted 
industry cluster was identified in accordance 
with paragraph (1). 
‘‘(C) A description of the workers that will 
be targeted or recruited by the partnership, in-
cluding an analysis of the existing labor market, 
a description of potential barriers to employ-
ment for targeted workers, and a description of 
strategies that will be employed to help workers 
overcome such barriers. 
‘‘(D) A description of the strategic objec-
tives that the eligible entity intends to carry out 
for the targeted industry cluster, which objec-
tives shall include— 
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‘‘(i) recruiting key stakeholders in the 
targeted industry cluster, such as multiple 
businesses and employers, labor organiza-
tions, local boards, and education and 
training providers, and regularly convening 
the stakeholders in a collaborative struc-
ture that supports the sharing of informa-
tion, ideas, and challenges common to the 
targeted industry cluster; 
‘‘(ii) identifying the training needs of 
multiple businesses, especially skill gaps 
critical to competitiveness and innovation 
to the targeted industry cluster; 
‘‘(iii) facilitating economies of scale by 
aggregating training and education needs 
of multiple employers; 
‘‘(iv) 
helping 
postsecondary 
edu-
cational institutions, training institutions, 
apprenticeship programs, and all other 
training programs authorized under this 
Act, align curricula, entrance require-
ments, and programs to industry demand 
and nationally portable, industry-recog-
nized credentials (or, if not available for 
the targeted industry, other credentials, as 
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determined appropriate by the Secretary), 
particularly for higher skill, high-priority 
occupations validated by the industry; 
‘‘(v) ensuring that the State agency 
carrying out the State program under the 
Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. 49 et seq.), 
including staff of the agency that provide 
services under such Act, shall inform re-
cipients of unemployment insurance of the 
job and training opportunities that may re-
sult from the implementation of this grant; 
‘‘(vi) informing and collaborating with 
organizations such as youth councils, busi-
ness-education partnerships, apprenticeship 
programs, secondary schools, and postsec-
ondary educational institutions, and with 
parents and career counselors, for the pur-
pose of addressing the challenges of con-
necting disadvantaged adults as defined in 
section 132(b)(1)(B)(v) and disadvantaged 
youth as defined in section 127(b) to ca-
reers; 
‘‘(vii) helping companies identify, and 
work together to address, common organi-
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zational and human resource challenges, 
such as— 
‘‘(I) recruiting new workers; 
‘‘(II) 
implementing 
effective 
workplace practices; 
‘‘(III) retraining dislocated and 
incumbent workers; 
‘‘(IV) implementing a high-per-
formance work organization; 
‘‘(V) recruiting and retaining 
women in nontraditional occupations; 
‘‘(VI) adopting new technologies; 
and 
‘‘(VII) fostering experiential and 
contextualized on-the-job learning; 
‘‘(viii) developing and strengthening 
career ladders within and across compa-
nies, in order to enable dislocated, incum-
bent and entry-level workers to improve 
skills and advance to higher-wage jobs; 
‘‘(ix) improving job quality through 
improving wages, benefits, and working 
conditions; 
‘‘(x) helping partner companies in in-
dustry or sector partnerships to attract po-
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tential employees from a diverse job seeker 
base, including individuals with barriers to 
employment (such as job seekers who are 
low income, youth, older workers, and indi-
viduals who have completed a term of im-
prisonment), by identifying such barriers 
through analysis of the existing labor mar-
ket and implementing strategies to help 
such workers overcome such barriers; and 
‘‘(xi) 
strengthening 
connections 
among businesses in the targeted industry 
cluster, leading to cooperation beyond 
workforce issues that will improve competi-
tiveness and job quality, such as joint pur-
chasing, market research, or centers for 
technology and innovation. 
‘‘(E) A description of the nationally port-
able, industry-recognized credentials or, if not 
available, other credentials, related to the tar-
geted industry cluster that the eligible entity 
proposes to support, develop, or use as a per-
formance measure, in order to carry out the 
strategic objectives described in subparagraph 
(D). 
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‘‘(F) A description of the manner in which 
the eligible entity intends to make sustainable 
progress toward the strategic objectives. 
‘‘(G) Performance measures for measuring 
progress toward the strategic objectives. Such 
performance measures— 
‘‘(i) may consider the benefits pro-
vided by the grant activities funded under 
this section for workers employed in the 
targeted industry cluster, disaggregated by 
gender and race, such as— 
‘‘(I) the number of workers re-
ceiving nationally portable, industry- 
recognized credentials (or, if not avail-
able for the targeted industry, other 
credentials) described in the applica-
tion under subparagraph (E); 
‘‘(II) the number of workers with 
increased wages, the percentage of 
workers with increased wages, and the 
average wage increase; and 
‘‘(III) for dislocated or non-
incumbent workers, the number of 
workers placed in sector-related jobs; 
and 
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‘‘(ii) may consider the benefits pro-
vided by the grant activities funded under 
this section for firms and industries in the 
targeted industry cluster, such as— 
‘‘(I) the creation or updating of 
an industry plan to meet current and 
future workforce demand; 
‘‘(II) the creation or updating of 
published industry-wide skill stand-
ards or career pathways; 
‘‘(III) the creation or updating of 
nationally 
portable, 
industry-recog-
nized credentials, or where there is 
not such a credential, the creation or 
updating of a training curriculum that 
can lead to the development of such a 
credential; 
‘‘(IV) the number of firms, and 
the percentage of the local industry, 
participating in the industry or sector 
partnership; and 
‘‘(V) the number of firms, and 
the percentage of the local industry, 
receiving workers or services through 
the grant funded under this section. 
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‘‘(H) A timeline for achieving progress to-
ward the strategic objectives. 
‘‘(I) In the case of an eligible entity desir-
ing an implementation grant under this section, 
an assurance that the eligible entity will lever-
age other funding sources, in addition to the 
amount required for the non-Federal share 
under subsection (c)(3)(D), to provide training 
or supportive services to workers under the 
grant program. Such additional funding sources 
may include— 
‘‘(i) funding under this title used for 
such training and supportive services; 
‘‘(ii) funding under the Adult Edu-
cation and Family Literacy Act of 1998 
(20 U.S.C. 9201 et seq.); 
‘‘(iii) economic development funding; 
‘‘(iv) employer contributions to train-
ing initiatives; or 
‘‘(v) providing employees with em-
ployee release time for such training or 
supportive services. 
‘‘(e) AWARD BASIS.— 
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‘‘(1) GEOGRAPHIC
DISTRIBUTION.—The Sec-
retary shall award grants under this section in a 
manner to ensure geographic diversity. 
‘‘(2) PRIORITIES.—In awarding grants under 
this section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligi-
ble entities that— 
‘‘(A) work with employers within a tar-
geted industry cluster to retain and expand em-
ployment in high wage, high growth areas; 
‘‘(B) focus on helping workers move to-
ward economic self-sufficiency and ensuring the 
workers have access to adequate supportive 
services; 
‘‘(C) address the needs of firms with lim-
ited human resources or in-house training ca-
pacity, including small- and medium-sized 
firms; and 
‘‘(D) coordinate with entities carrying out 
State and local workforce investment, economic 
development, and education activities. 
‘‘(f) ACTIVITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity receiving 
a grant under this section shall carry out the activi-
ties necessary to meet the strategic objectives, in-
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cluding planning activities if applicable, described in 
the entity’s application in a manner that— 
‘‘(A) 
integrates 
services 
and 
funding 
sources in a way that enhances the effectiveness 
of the activities; and 
‘‘(B) uses grant funds awarded under this 
section efficiently. 
‘‘(2) PLANNING
ACTIVITIES.—Planning activi-
ties may only be carried out by an eligible entity re-
ceiving an implementation grant under this section 
during the first year of the grant period with not 
more than $250,000 of the grant funds. 
‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—An eligible enti-
ty may retain a portion of a grant awarded under 
this section for a fiscal year to carry out the admin-
istration of this section in an amount not to exceed 
5 percent of the grant amount. 
‘‘(g) EVALUATION AND PROGRESS REPORTS.— 
‘‘(1) ANNUAL ACTIVITY REPORT AND EVALUA-
TION.—Not later than 1 year after receiving a grant 
under this section, and annually thereafter, an eligi-
ble entity shall— 
‘‘(A) report to the Secretary, and to the 
Governor of the State that the eligible entity 
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serves, on the activities funded pursuant to a 
grant under this section; and 
‘‘(B) evaluate the progress the eligible enti-
ty has made toward the strategic objectives 
identified in the application under subsection 
(d)(2)(D), and measure the progress using the 
performance measures identified in the applica-
tion under subsection (d)(2)(G). 
‘‘(2) REPORT TO THE SECRETARY.—An eligible 
entity receiving a grant under this section shall sub-
mit to the Secretary a report containing the results 
of the evaluation described in subparagraph (B) at 
such time and in such manner as the Secretary may 
require. 
‘‘(h) ADMINISTRATION BY THE SECRETARY.— 
‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Secretary 
may retain not more than 10 percent of the funds 
appropriated to carry out this section for each fiscal 
year to administer this section. 
‘‘(2) 
TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE
AND
OVER-
SIGHT.—The Secretary shall provide technical assist-
ance and oversight to assist the eligible entities in 
applying for and administering grants awarded 
under this section. The Secretary shall also provide 
technical assistance to eligible entities in the form of 
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