National Apprenticeship Act of 2021

IIB 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 447 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 25, 2021 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions AN ACT To amend the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’) and expand the national apprenticeship system to include apprentice- ships, youth apprenticeships, and pre-apprenticeship reg- istered under such Act, to promote the furtherance of labor standards necessary to safeguard the welfare of apprentices, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Feb 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H447.RFS H447 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 447 RFS Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Apprentice- 4 ship Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. 6 This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, 7 shall take effect beginning on October 1, 2021. 8 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT. 9 The Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly referred to 10 as the ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, chap- 11 ter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), is amended to read as fol- 12 lows: 13 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 14 ‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 15 ‘National Apprenticeship Act’. 16 ‘‘(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents 17 for this Act is as follows: 18 ‘‘Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. ‘‘Sec. 2. Definitions. ‘‘Sec. 3. Programs under the national apprenticeship system. ‘‘Sec. 4. Transition provisions. ‘‘Sec. 5. Disaggregation of data. ‘‘Sec. 6. Relation to other laws. ‘‘TITLE I—PROMOTING PROGRAMS UNDER THE NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM ‘‘Subtitle A—The Office of Apprenticeship, State Registration Agency Approval Process, and Interagency Agreement ‘‘Sec. 111. The Office of Apprenticeship. ‘‘Sec. 112. National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships. ‘‘Sec. 113. State apprenticeship agencies and State Offices of Apprenticeship. ‘‘Sec. 114. Interagency agreement with Department of Education. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Feb 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H447.RFS H447 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 447 RFS ‘‘Subtitle B—Process and Standards for the National Apprenticeship System ‘‘Sec. 121. Apprenticeable occupations standards. ‘‘Sec. 122. Quality standards of programs under the national apprenticeship system. ‘‘Sec. 123. Apprenticeship agreements. ‘‘Sec. 124. Registration of programs under the national apprenticeship system. ‘‘Subtitle C—Evaluations and Research ‘‘Sec. 131. Program evaluations. ‘‘Sec. 132. National apprenticeship system research. ‘‘Subtitle D—General Provisions ‘‘Sec. 141. Authorization of appropriations. ‘‘TITLE II—MODERNIZING THE NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM FOR THE 21ST CENTURY GRANTS ‘‘Sec. 201. Grant requirements. ‘‘Sec. 202. Uses of Funds. ‘‘Sec. 203. Grant evaluations. ‘‘Sec. 204. Grant appropriations. ‘‘SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 ‘‘In this Act: 2 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis- 3 trator’ means the Administrator of the Office of Ap- 4 prenticeship established under section 111(a). 5 ‘‘(2) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘Advi- 6 sory Committee’ means the National Advisory Com- 7 mittee on Apprenticeships established under section 8 112. 9 ‘‘(3) APPRENTICE.—The term ‘apprentice’ 10 means a program participant in an apprenticeship 11 program. 12 ‘‘(4) APPRENTICESHIP AGREEMENT.—The term 13 ‘apprenticeship agreement’ means a written agree- 14 ment under section 123 between— 15 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Feb 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H447.RFS H447 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 447 RFS ‘‘(A) an apprentice, a youth apprentice, or 1 a pre-apprentice; and 2 ‘‘(B) a sponsor. 3 ‘‘(5) APPRENTICESHIP HUB.—The term ‘ap- 4 prenticeship hub’ means a regional or sectoral quali- 5 fied intermediary recognized by a State apprentice- 6 ship agency or a State Office of Apprenticeship as 7 organizing and providing activities and services re- 8 lated to the development of programs under the na- 9 tional apprenticeship system. 10 ‘‘(6) APPRENTICEABLE OCCUPATION.—The 11 term ‘apprenticeable occupation’ means an occupa- 12 tion that the Administrator has determined meets 13 the requirements of section 121. 14 ‘‘(7) APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.—The term 15 ‘apprenticeship program’ means a program that 16 meets the standards described in section 122(b) and 17 is registered under this Act. 18 ‘‘(8) COMPETENCY.—The term ‘competency’ 19 means the attainment of knowledge, skills, and abili- 20 ties in a subject area, as specified by an occupa- 21 tional skill standard and demonstrated by an appro- 22 priate written or hands-on proficiency measurement. 23 ‘‘(9) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘Department’ 24 means the Department of Labor. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Feb 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H447.RFS H447 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 447 RFS ‘‘(10) EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROVIDER.— 1 The term ‘education and training provider’ means— 2 ‘‘(A) an area career and technical edu- 3 cation school; 4 ‘‘(B) an early college high school; 5 ‘‘(C) an educational service agency; 6 ‘‘(D) a high school; 7 ‘‘(E) a local educational agency or State 8 educational agency; 9 ‘‘(F) a Tribal educational agency, Tribally 10 controlled college or university, or Tribally con- 11 trolled postsecondary career and technical insti- 12 tution; 13 ‘‘(G) a postsecondary educational institu- 14 tion; 15 ‘‘(H) a minority-serving institution; 16 ‘‘(I) a provider of adult education and lit- 17 eracy activities under the Adult Education and 18 Family Literacy Act (29 U.S.C. 3271 et seq.); 19 ‘‘(J) a local agency administering plans 20 under title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 21 (29 U.S.C. 720 et seq.), other than section 112 22 or part C of that title (29 U.S.C. 732, 741); 23 ‘‘(K) a related instruction provider, includ- 24 ing a qualified intermediary acting as a related 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Feb 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H447.RFS H447 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 447 RFS instruction provider as approved by a registra- 1 tion agency; 2 ‘‘(L) a Job Corps center (as defined in sec- 3 tion 142 of the Workforce Innovation and Op- 4 portunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3192)); or 5 ‘‘(M) a consortium of entities described in 6 any of subparagraphs (A) through (L). 7 ‘‘(11) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible en- 9 tity’ means— 10 ‘‘(i) a program sponsor; 11 ‘‘(ii) a State workforce development 12 board or State workforce agency, or a local 13 workforce development board or local 14 workforce development agency; 15 ‘‘(iii) an education and training pro- 16 vider, or a consortium thereof; 17 ‘‘(iv) if the applicant is in a State 18 with a State apprenticeship agency, such 19 State apprenticeship agency; 20 ‘‘(v) an Indian Tribe or Tribal organi- 21 zation; 22 ‘‘(vi) an industry or sector partner- 23 ship, a group of employers, a trade asso- 24 ciation, or a professional association that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Feb 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H447.RFS H447 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 447 RFS sponsors or participates in a program 1 under the national apprenticeship system; 2 ‘‘(vii) a Governor of a State; 3 ‘‘(viii) a labor organization or joint 4 labor-management organization; or 5 ‘‘(ix) a qualified intermediary. 6 ‘‘(B) SPONSOR REQUIREMENT.—Not fewer 7 than one entity under subparagraph (A) shall 8 be the sponsor of a program under the national 9 apprenticeship system. 10 ‘‘(12) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 11 The terms ‘Indian Tribe’ and ‘Tribal organization’ 12 have the meaning given the terms (without regard to 13 capitalization) in section 4 of the Indian Self-Deter- 14 mination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 15 5304). 16 ‘‘(13) INTERIM CREDENTIAL.—The term ‘in- 17 terim credential’ means a credential issued by a reg- 18 istration agency, upon request of the appropriate 19 sponsor, as certification of competency attainment 20 by a program participant during participation in a 21 program under the national apprenticeship system. 22 ‘‘(14) JOURNEYWORKER.—The term 23 ‘journeyworker’ means a worker who has attained a 24 level of skill, abilities, and competencies recognized 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Feb 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H447.RFS H447 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 447 RFS within an industry as having mastered the skills and 1 competencies required for the occupation. 2 ‘‘(15) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 3 term ‘minority-serving institution’ means an institu- 4 tion defined in any of paragraphs (1) through (7) of 5 section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 6 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a))). 7 ‘‘(16) NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM.— 8 The term ‘national apprenticeship system’ means the 9 apprenticeship programs, youth apprenticeship pro- 10 grams, and pre-apprenticeship programs that meet 11 the requirements of this Act. 12 ‘‘(17) NONTRADITIONAL APPRENTICESHIP POP- 13 ULATION.—The term ‘nontraditional apprenticeship 14 population’ means a group of individuals (such as 15 individuals from the same gender, race, or ethnicity), 16 the members of which comprise fewer than 25 per- 17 cent of the program participants in an 18 apprenticeable occupation under the national ap- 19 prenticeship system. 20 ‘‘(18) NONTRADITIONAL APPRENTICESHIP IN- 21 DUSTRY OR OCCUPATION.—The term ‘nontraditional 22 apprenticeship industry or occupation’ refers to an 23 industry sector or occupation that represents fewer 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Feb 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H447.RFS H447 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 447 RFS than 10 percent of apprenticeable occupations or the 1 programs under the national apprenticeship system. 2 ‘‘(19) OUTLYING AREA.—The term ‘outlying 3 area’ means American Samoa, Guam, the Common- 4 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the 5 United States Virgin Islands. 6 ‘‘(20) PRE-APPRENTICE.—The term ‘pre-ap- 7 prentice’ means a program participant in a pre-ap- 8 prenticeship program. 9 ‘‘(21) PRE-APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.—The 10 term ‘pre-apprenticeship program’ means a training 11 model or program that— 12 ‘‘(A) prepares individuals for acceptance 13 into an apprenticeship program; 14 ‘‘(B) meets the standards described in sec- 15 tion 122(c); and 16 ‘‘(C) is registered under this Act. 17 ‘‘(22) PROGRAM PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘pro- 18 gram participant’ means an apprentice, a pre-ap- 19 prentice, or a youth apprentice. 20 ‘‘(23) QUALIFIED INTERMEDIARY.— 21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 22 intermediary’ means an entity that dem- 23 onstrates expertise in building, connecting, sus- 24 taining, and measuring the performance of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Feb 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H447.RFS H447 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 HR 447 RFS partnerships described in subparagraph (B) and 1 serves program participants and employers 2 by— 3 ‘‘(i) connecting employers to programs 4 under the national apprenticeship system; 5 ‘‘(ii) assisting in the design and imple- 6 mentation of such programs, including cur- 7 riculum development and delivery for re- 8 lated instruction; 9 ‘‘(iii) supporting entities, sponsors, or 10 program administrators in meeting the 11 registration and reporting requirements of 12 this Act; 13 ‘‘(iv) providing professional develop- 14 ment activities such as training to men- 15 tors; 16 ‘‘(v) supporting the recruitment, re- 17 tention, and completion of potential pro- 18 gram participants, including nontraditional 19 apprenticeship populations and individuals 20 with barriers to employment; 21 ‘‘(vi) developing and providing person- 22 alized program participant supports, in- 23 cluding by partnering with organizations to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Feb 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H447.RFS H447 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 HR 447 RFS provide access to or referrals for supportive 1 services and financial advising; 2 ‘‘(vii) providing services, resources, 3 and supports for development, delivery, ex- 4 pansion, or improvement of programs 5 under the national apprenticeship system; 6 or 7 ‘‘(viii) serving as a program sponsor. 8 ‘‘(B) PARTNERSHIPS.—The term ‘partner- 9 ships described in subparagraph (B)’ means 10 partnerships among entities involved in, or ap- 11 plying to participate in, programs under the na- 12 tional apprenticeship system, including— 13 ‘‘(i) industry or sector partnerships; 14 ‘‘(ii) partnerships among employers, 15 joint labor-management organizations, 16 labor organizations, community-based or- 17 ganizations, industry associations, State or 18 local workforce development boards, edu- 19 cation and training providers, social service 20 organizations, economic development orga- 21 nizations, Indian Tribes or Tribal organi- 22 zations, one-stop operators, one-stop part- 23 ners, or veterans-service organizations in 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Feb 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H447.RFS H447 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 HR 447 RFS the State workforce development system; 1 or 2 ‘‘(iii) partnerships among one or more 3 of the entities described in clauses (i) and 4 (ii). 5 ‘‘(24) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN- 6 TIAL.—The term ‘recognized postsecondary creden- 7 tial’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of 8 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 9 U.S.C. 3102), except that such term does not in- 10 clude a certificate of completion of an apprentice- 11 ship. 12 ‘‘(25) REGISTRATION AGENCY.—The term ‘reg- 13 istration agency’ means the State Office of Appren- 14 ticeship or State apprenticeship agency in a State 15 that is responsible for— 16 ‘‘(A) approving or denying applications 17 from sponsors for registration of programs 18 under the national apprenticeship system in the 19 State or area covered by the registration agen- 20 cy; and 21 ‘‘(B) carrying out the responsibilities of 22 supporting the youth apprenticeship, pre-ap- 23 prenticeship, or apprenticeship programs reg- 24 istered by the registration agency. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Feb 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H447.RFS H447 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 HR 447 RFS ‘‘(26) RELATED INSTRUCTION.—The term ‘re- 1 lated instruction’ means an organized a [Text truncated for display. 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