Cyber Ready Workforce Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2721 To establish a grant program within the Department of Labor to support the creation, implementation, and expansion of registered apprenticeship programs in cybersecurity. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 14, 2019 Mrs. LEE of Nevada (for herself, Ms. STEFANIK, Ms. SPANBERGER, and Mr. RIGGLEMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To establish a grant program within the Department of Labor to support the creation, implementation, and ex- pansion of registered apprenticeship programs in cyberse- curity. 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 ‘‘Cyber Ready Work- 4 force Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 May 28, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2721.IH H2721 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2721 IH (1) According to Georgetown University’s Cen- 1 ter on Education and the Workforce, by 2020, the 2 United States is projected to experience a shortage 3 of 5,000,000 workers with postsecondary education 4 or training, including vocational certificates and ap- 5 prenticeship training. 6 (2) Registered apprenticeships strengthen the 7 Nation’s economy, create pathways to good-paying 8 careers, and help meet the Nation’s current work- 9 force demands. 10 (3) Apprenticeships can help fill the Nation’s 11 workforce needs, including in fields not traditionally 12 linked to apprenticeships, such as cybersecurity. 13 (4) The cybersecurity field has a severe short- 14 age in talent, with over 300,000 job openings today, 15 according to CyberSeek, an interactive cybersecurity 16 jobs heat map funded by the Department of Com- 17 merce’s National Institute of Standards and Tech- 18 nology (NIST). 19 (5) Employers, especially in cybersecurity and 20 information technology fields, may be unfamiliar 21 with the apprenticeship model or do not have the ca- 22 pacity or resources to develop and implement their 23 own training. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 May 28, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2721.IH H2721 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2721 IH SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 3 The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ 4 means a program registered under the Act of Au- 5 gust 16, 1937 (commonly known as the ‘‘National 6 Apprenticeship Act’’; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 7 (2) WORKFORCE INTERMEDIARY.—The term 8 ‘‘workforce intermediary’’ means an entity that fa- 9 cilitates the establishment of registered apprentice- 10 ship programs, and may be a partnership that in- 11 cludes one or more of the following as partners: 12 (A) A business or industry organization. 13 (B) A community-based organization, as 14 defined in section 3201(5) of the Elementary 15 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 16 U.S.C. 7801(5)). 17 (C) A State or local workforce development 18 board, as such terms are defined in section 3 of 19 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 20 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 21 (D) A postsecondary education institution 22 with experience in developing and administering 23 registered apprenticeship programs. 24 (E) A joint labor-management partnership. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 May 28, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2721.IH H2721 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2721 IH (F) An institution of higher education, as 1 defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu- 2 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 3 (G) A nonprofit organization. 4 SEC. 4. CYBERSECURITY APPRENTICESHIP GRANT PRO- 5 GRAM. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 7 award grants, on a competitive basis, to workforce inter- 8 mediaries, to support the establishment, implementation, 9 and expansion of registered apprenticeship programs in 10 cybersecurity. 11 (b) DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAMS ELIGIBLE.—For 12 purposes of subsection (a), registered apprenticeship pro- 13 grams in cybersecurity shall include technical instruction, 14 workplace training, and industry-recognized certification 15 in cybersecurity. Programs shall— 16 (1) include certifications in CompTIA 17 Network+, CompTIA A+, CompTIA Security+, 18 Microsoft Windows 10 Technician, Microsoft Cer- 19 tified System Administrator, Certified Network De- 20 fender, Certified Ethical Hacker, ISACA Cybersecu- 21 rity Nexus (CSX), (ISC)2’s Certified Information 22 Systems Security Professional (CISSP), or other in- 23 dustry-recognized certification in cybersecurity; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 May 28, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2721.IH H2721 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2721 IH (2) encourage stackable and portable creden- 1 tials; and 2 (3) lead to occupations such as computer sup- 3 port specialists, cybersecurity support technicians, 4 cloud computing architects, computer programmers, 5 computer systems analysts, or security specialists. 6 SEC. 5. USE OF FUNDS. 7 (a) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—A workforce inter- 8 mediary shall use at least 85 percent of the amount of 9 grant funds received under this Act for the following: 10 (1) DEVELOPMENT AND TECHNICAL SUP- 11 PORT.—Complete the apprenticeship registration 12 process with the Department of Labor, and assist 13 employers with other logistical and technical issues. 14 (2) EMPLOYER PARTNERSHIP.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Develop curricula and 16 technical instruction for the registered appren- 17 ticeship program in cooperation with local busi- 18 nesses, organizations, and employer-partners, 19 referencing the work roles and tasks outlined in 20 the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Edu- 21 cation (NICE) Cybersecurity Workforce Frame- 22 work Special Publication 800–181 to develop 23 skills and standards for the program. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 May 28, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2721.IH H2721 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2721 IH (B) OFFSITE TRAINING.—Assist employers 1 in paying for the cost of offsite training and ac- 2 quiring course materials provided to appren- 3 tices. 4 (C) CONNECTING EMPLOYERS.—Connect 5 employers with education and training providers 6 to complement on-the-job learning. 7 (3) SUPPORT SERVICES FOR APPRENTICES.— 8 Provide support services to apprentices to assist with 9 their success in the registered apprenticeship pro- 10 gram, which may include the following: 11 (A) Career counseling. 12 (B) Mentorship. 13 (C) Assisting with costs of transportation, 14 housing, and child care services. 15 (b) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—A workforce inter- 16 mediary may use up to 15 percent of the amount of grant 17 funds received under this Act for the following outreach 18 and marketing activities: 19 (1) Market apprenticeships and the apprentice- 20 ship model to employers, secondary school adminis- 21 trators, and counselors. 22 (2) Recruit and conduct outreach to potential 23 apprentices, including secondary school students, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 May 28, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2721.IH H2721 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2721 IH underrepresented populations (such as women and 1 minorities), youth, and veterans. 2 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 3 There is authorized to be appropriated, such sums 4 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 May 28, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2721.IH H2721 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS