Immersive Technology for the American Workforce Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.9674 | Sponsor: Rep. Blunt Rochester, Lisa (D-DE)
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Immersive Technology for the American Workforce Act of 2022
This bill establishes a grant program to assist community colleges and career and technical schools in developing immersive technology education and workforce training programs.

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to direct the 
Secretary of Labor to carry out a competitive 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 Representatives 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''.

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 experienced job and 
        population growth, rural communities face static or declining 
        populations and job decline.
            (3) Rural communities were hit harder and recovered more 
        slowly than urban centers during the 2007-2008 recession and 
        have experienced more economic depression and decline in 
        college enrollment 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 agriculture 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 high-tech 
        simulations are increasingly valued as tools to train workers 
        in industries ranging from manufacturing 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 efficiency, 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 economy. As the need for 
        reskilling increases, so will the need for technologies which 
        support American workers rather than replace them.
            (11) Community colleges, area career and technical 
        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, increasing 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 workforce 
        development training and skills education applicable 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 colleges 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 providing qualification for new local 
        jobs or for remote employment opportunities with companies 
        headquartered in urban centers that are struggling to fill 
        jobs.
            (18) Immersive technology training partnership with 
        community colleges and area career and technical education 
        schools also complements recent Federal funding for broadband 
        connection and physical infrastructure, the two other biggest 
        hurdles facing rural students and workers seeking reskilling or 
        upskilling.

SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION 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 PROGRAMS AND CAREER PATHWAYS.

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of 
enactment of this section, from the amounts appropriated 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 training programs or career pathways that use immersive 
technology.
    ``(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 training 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 community colleges and other 
                institutions of higher education, including other 
                covered community colleges; and
                    ``(B) develops or enhances supportive services 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 activity that--
                    ``(A)(i) includes integrated education and training 
                that uses immersive technology; and
                    ``(ii) is designed to increase the provision of 
                workforce training for students (including individuals 
                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 performance 
indicators as determined under subsection (h)(1) for the initial 5-year 
grant period, the Secretary may extend 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 section, the 
Secretary shall give priority to any eligible entity that--
            ``(1) is working with, or in carrying out a program or 
        activity to be funded with such a grant plans to work with, an 
        industry or sector partnership 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 entity 
                        will be carrying out a program or activity 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 Technical 
                        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 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 eligible 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 description 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 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 program or activity.
            ``(2) Report to congress.--Not later than 1 year after the 
        first grant is awarded under this section and biennially 
        thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 
        that includes a summary 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 Secretary, in 
        coordination with the Secretary of Education, shall determine 
        the criteria for satisfactory progress on the indicators of 
        performance under section 116(b)(2)(A)(i) for programs and 
        activities 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 carried 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 coordination with the 
Secretary of Education and each eligible entity 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 education 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 education (as 
                defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act 
                (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)), at which--
                            ``(i) the highest degree awarded is an 
                        associate degree; or
                            ``(ii) an associate degree is the most 
                        frequently awarded degree;
                    ``(B) a branch campus of a 4-year public 
                institution of higher education (as defined in section 
                101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                1001)), if, at such branch campus--
                            ``(i) the highest degree awarded is an 
                        associate degree; or
                            ``(ii) an associate degree is the most 
                        frequently awarded degree;
                    ``(C) a 2-year Tribal College or University (as 
                defined in section 316(b)(3) of the Higher Education 
                Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)(3))); or
                    ``(D) a degree-granting Tribal College or 
                University (as defined in section 316(b)(3) of the 
                Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)(3))) 
                at which--
                            ``(i) the highest degree awarded is an 
                        associate degree; or
                            ``(ii) an associate degree is the most 
                        frequently awarded degree.
            ``(2) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
                    ``(A) a community college;
                    ``(B) an area career and technical education 
                school;
                    ``(C) a postsecondary vocational institution (as 
                defined in section 102(c) of the Higher Education Act 
                of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(c))); or
                    ``(D) a consortium of such colleges, schools, or 
                institutions.
            ``(3) Immersive technology.--The term `immersive 
        technology' means tools, including virtual reality and 
        augmented reality, that integrate the physical environment with 
        digital content to support user engagement.
            ``(4) Rural.--The term `rural' means all populations, 
        housing, and territories not included within an urban area, in 
        which an urban area is defined as any gathered populations, 
        housing, and territories that meets or exceeds 50,000 or more 
        people, or is comprised of clusters consisting of at least 
        2,500 gathered populations, housing, and territory but less 
        than 50,000 people.''.

SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

    The table of contents for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 
Act (29 U.S.C. 3101) is amended by striking the item relating to 
section 172 and inserting the following:

``Sec. 172. Grants for immersive technology and education workforce 
                            training programs and career pathways.
``Sec. 173. Authorization of appropriations.''.
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