CHANCE in TECH Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1733 To direct the Secretary of Labor to enter into contracts with industry inter- mediaries for purposes of promoting the development of and access to apprenticeships in the technology sector, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 13, 2019 Mr. MOULTON (for himself, Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER, Mr. KILMER, Mr. EMMER, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mrs. MURPHY, Mr. HIMES, Mr. RYAN, Mr. O’HALLERAN, and Mr. LAMB) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To direct the Secretary of Labor to enter into contracts with industry intermediaries for purposes of promoting the development of and access to apprenticeships in the technology sector, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘CHampioning Appren- 4 ticeships for New Careers and Employees in TECHnology 5 Act’’ or the ‘‘CHANCE in TECH Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Mar 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1733.IH H1733 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1733 IH SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) During any given 90-day period there can 3 be more than 500,000 information technology job 4 openings in the United States. 5 (2) Employment in the technology sector is 6 growing twice as fast as employment in the United 7 States. 8 (3) Jobs in the technology sector tend to pro- 9 vide higher pay and better benefits than other jobs 10 and have been more resilient to economic downturn 11 than jobs available in other private sector industries. 12 (4) Information technology skills are transfer- 13 able across nearly all industries. 14 (5) Exceptional education and on-the-job train- 15 ing programs exist and should be scaled to meet the 16 demands of the modern technology workforce. 17 (6) Adoption of existing employer-driven inter- 18 mediary models, such as ApprenticeshipUSA under 19 the Department of Labor, will help grow the infor- 20 mation technology workforce. 21 (7) Career pathway education should start in 22 high school through pathways and programs of 23 study that align with local and regional employer 24 needs. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Mar 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1733.IH H1733 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1733 IH (8) Preparing a student for a job in the tech- 1 nology sector is essential to the growth and competi- 2 tiveness of the economy in the United States in the 3 21st century. 4 (9) Nearly 800,000 information technology 5 workers will retire between 2017 and 2024. 6 (10) In 2016, the average salary in the infor- 7 mation technology sector was $108,000, while the 8 average salary among all other sectors was $53,040. 9 SEC. 3. TECHNOLOGY APPRENTICESHIP CONTRACTS. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor (referred 11 to in this section as ‘‘the Secretary’’) shall enter into con- 12 tracts with industry intermediaries for the purpose of pro- 13 moting the development of and access to apprenticeships 14 in the technology sector, from amounts appropriated 15 under subsection (e). 16 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to be awarded a con- 17 tract under this section, an industry intermediary shall 18 submit an application to the Secretary, at such time and 19 in such a manner as may be required by the Secretary, 20 that identifies proposed activities designed to further the 21 purpose described in subsection (a). 22 (c) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall award con- 23 tracts under this section based on competitive criteria to 24 be prescribed by the Secretary. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Mar 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1733.IH H1733 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1733 IH (d) CONTRACTOR ACTIVITIES.—An industry inter- 1 mediary that is awarded a contract under this section may 2 only use the funds made available through such contract 3 to carry out activities designed to further the purpose de- 4 scribed in subsection (a), including— 5 (1) facilitating the provision and development of 6 apprenticeships in the technology sector through col- 7 laborations with public and private entities that pro- 8 vide job-related instruction, such as on-the-job train- 9 ing, pre-apprenticeship training, and technical train- 10 ing; 11 (2) encouraging entities to establish such ap- 12 prenticeships; 13 (3) identifying, assessing, and training appli- 14 cants for such apprenticeships who are— 15 (A) enrolled in high school; 16 (B) enrolled in an early college high school 17 that focuses on education in STEM subjects; 18 (C) individuals aged 18 years or older who 19 meet appropriate qualification standards; or 20 (D) enrolled in pre-apprenticeship or ap- 21 prenticeship training initiatives that allow 22 adults to concurrently increase academic and 23 workforce skills through proven, evidence-based 24 models that connect all learning to the specific 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Mar 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1733.IH H1733 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1733 IH apprenticeship involved and significantly accel- 1 erate completion of preparation for the appren- 2 ticeship; and 3 (4) tracking the progress of such applicants 4 who participate in such apprenticeships. 5 SEC. 4. CHANCE IN TECH AWARDS FOR 21ST CENTURY 6 SCHOOLS. 7 (a) AWARDS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Edu- 8 cation may issue awards, to be known as ‘‘CHANCE in 9 TECH Awards for 21st Century Schools’’, to schools (re- 10 ferred to in this section as ‘‘covered schools’’) that— 11 (1) are secondary schools or junior or commu- 12 nity colleges; and 13 (2) demonstrate high achievement in providing 14 students necessary skills to compete in the 21st cen- 15 tury workforce. 16 (b) CRITERIA.—In selecting a covered school for an 17 award under subsection (a), the Secretary shall take into 18 account— 19 (1) the availability of STEM, career and tech- 20 nical education, and computer technology courses at 21 the covered school; 22 (2) State academic assessments, as described in 23 section 111(b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Mar 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1733.IH H1733 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1733 IH Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)), of 1 students at the covered school in STEM subjects; 2 (3) any coordination between the covered school 3 and local and regional employers in the technology 4 sector for the purpose of providing work-based learn- 5 ing programs such as apprenticeships and intern- 6 ships; and 7 (4) the availability of individualized plans pro- 8 vided by the covered school to students relating to 9 postsecondary education or training, career paths, 10 and financial aid. 11 SEC. 5. FUNDING. 12 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 13 this Act such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 14 2019 and each subsequent fiscal year. 15 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 16 In this Act: 17 (1) APPRENTICESHIP.—The term ‘‘apprentice- 18 ship’’ means an apprenticeship registered under the 19 Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as the 20 ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, chap- 21 ter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 22 (2) CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION.—The 23 term ‘‘career and technical education’’ has the 24 meaning given such term in section 3 of the Carl D. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Mar 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1733.IH H1733 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1733 IH Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 1 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302). 2 (3) EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL.—The term 3 ‘‘early college high school’’ has the meaning given 4 such term in section 8101 of the Elementary and 5 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 6 (4) HIGH SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘high school’’ 7 has the meaning given such term in section 8101 of 8 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 9 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 10 (5) INDUSTRY INTERMEDIARY.—The term ‘‘in- 11 dustry intermediary’’ means an entity that— 12 (A) in order to accelerate apprenticeship 13 program development and help establish new 14 apprenticeship partnerships at the national, 15 State, or regional level, serves as a conduit be- 16 tween an employer and an entity, such as— 17 (i) an industry partner; 18 (ii) the Department of Labor; and 19 (iii) a State agency responsible for 20 workforce development programs; 21 (B) demonstrates a capacity to work with 22 employers and other key partners to identify 23 workforce trends and foster public-private fund- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Mar 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1733.IH H1733 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1733 IH ing to establish new apprenticeship programs; 1 and 2 (C) is an entity such as— 3 (i) a business; 4 (ii) a consortium of businesses; 5 (iii) a business-related nonprofit orga- 6 nization, including industry associations 7 and business federations; 8 (iv) a private organization functioning 9 as a workforce intermediary for the ex- 10 press purpose of serving the needs of busi- 11 nesses, including community-based non- 12 profit service providers and industry- 13 aligned training providers; or 14 (v) a consortium of any of the entities 15 described in clauses (i) through (iv). 16 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 17 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 18 meaning given such term in section 102 of the High- 19 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 20 (7) JUNIOR OR COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The 21 term ‘‘junior or community college’’ has the meaning 22 given the term in section 312(f) of the Higher Edu- 23 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f)). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Mar 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1733.IH H1733 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1733 IH (8) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 1 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 2 such term in section 8101 of the Elementary and 3 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 4 (9) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec- 5 ondary school’’ has the meaning given such term in 6 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 7 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 8 (10) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 9 ‘‘State educational agency’’ has the meaning given 10 such term in section 8101 of the Elementary and 11 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 12 (11) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means 13 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. 14 (12) TECHNOLOGY SECTOR.—The term ‘‘tech- 15 nology sector’’ means the industry sector involved in 16 the design or development of hardware, software, or 17 security of digital data. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Mar 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1733.IH H1733 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS