I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2900 To promote registered apprenticeships, including registered apprenticeships within in-demand industry sectors, through the support of workforce intermediaries, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 26, 2023 Mr. NORCROSS (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. CRAIG, Ms. BUDZINSKI, Ms. NORTON, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. TITUS, and Mr. LYNCH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To promote registered apprenticeships, including registered apprenticeships within in-demand industry sectors, through the support of workforce intermediaries, 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 ‘‘Apprenticeship Hubs 4 Across America Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2900.IH H2900 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2900 IH (1) Registered apprenticeship programs provide 1 apprentices employment with structured on-the-job 2 training, little to no student loan debt, competitive 3 wages, industry-recognized credentials, direct access 4 to jobs and careers, and in some cases, the potential 5 to earn college credit toward an associate’s or bach- 6 elor’s degree. 7 (2) According to the Department of Labor, the 8 average salary for an individual who completes an 9 apprenticeship program is $77,000 annually. Ap- 10 prentices who complete their program earn approxi- 11 mately $300,000 more during their career than 12 peers who did not complete an apprenticeship. 13 (3) There are still very few apprenticeship posi- 14 tions in sectors with high projected job growth. Ac- 15 cording to data from the Department of Labor, pro- 16 fessional, scientific, and technical services—all in- 17 dustries with high projected job growth—had only 18 1,827 apprentices in fiscal year 2021. The field of 19 health care and social assistance had less than 20 14,000 apprentices, much lower than the future pro- 21 jected need in the field. 22 (4) A major barrier to expanding registered ap- 23 prenticeships in high-growth job sectors is employ- 24 ers’ lack of familiarity with the process to establish, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2900.IH H2900 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2900 IH and the requirements of, registered apprenticeship 1 programs. 2 (5) Workforce intermediaries, which are organi- 3 zations at the national, regional, State, or local level 4 that help ease the process for employers in devel- 5 oping and delivering new registered apprenticeship 6 programs, can serve as a catalyzing force for cre- 7 ating and expanding registered apprenticeships in 8 high-growth job sectors through technical assistance 9 and capacity building for employers, labor organiza- 10 tions, educational institutions, and government enti- 11 ties. 12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 13 In this Act: 14 (1) APPRENTICESHIP.—The term ‘‘apprentice- 15 ship’’ means an opportunity in a registered appren- 16 ticeship program. 17 (2) IN-DEMAND INDUSTRY SECTOR.—The term 18 ‘‘in-demand industry sector’’ means a sector de- 19 scribed in subparagraphs (A)(i) and (B) of section 20 3(23) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 21 Act (29 U.S.C. 3102(23)). 22 (3) INDUSTRY OR SECTOR PARTNERSHIP.—The 23 term ‘‘industry or sector partnership’’ has the mean- 24 ing given the term in paragraph (26) of section 3 of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2900.IH H2900 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2900 IH the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 1 U.S.C. 3102), except that clause (ii) of such para- 2 graph (26) shall be applied as if ‘‘, as appropriate’’ 3 has been struck. 4 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 5 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 6 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 7 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 8 (5) LOCAL BOARD.—The term ‘‘local board’’ 9 has the meaning given such term in section 3(33) of 10 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 11 U.S.C. 3102(33)). 12 (6) NONTRADITIONAL APPRENTICESHIP OCCU- 13 PATION.—The term ‘‘nontraditional apprenticeship 14 occupation’’ means an occupation that has not tradi- 15 tionally engaged in carrying out registered appren- 16 ticeship programs, but which the Secretary deter- 17 mines would benefit from having such a program 18 (such as an occupation in a financial services, ad- 19 vanced manufacturing, information technology, 20 health care, or hospitality industry sector). 21 (7) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 22 The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ 23 means a program registered under the Act of Au- 24 gust 16, 1937 (commonly known as the ‘‘National 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2900.IH H2900 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2900 IH Apprenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 1 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 2 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 3 the Secretary of Labor. 4 (9) STATE BOARD.—The term ‘‘State board’’ 5 has the meaning given the term in section 3(57) of 6 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 7 U.S.C. 3102(57)). 8 (10) WORKFORCE INTERMEDIARY.—The term 9 ‘‘workforce intermediary’’ means an entity that, at 10 the national, regional, State, or local level— 11 (A)(i) facilitates the establishment of a 12 registered apprenticeship program; or 13 (ii) has the capacity, and will work, to fa- 14 cilitate the establishment of a registered ap- 15 prenticeship program; 16 (B) includes representatives of labor orga- 17 nizations representing workers in the industry 18 sector in which the registered apprenticeship is 19 (or will be) established; and 20 (C) may be a partnership that includes 1 21 or more of the following as partners: 22 (i) A business or industry organiza- 23 tion. 24 (ii) A labor organization. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2900.IH H2900 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2900 IH (iii) A labor workforce intermediary. 1 (iv) A community-based organization. 2 (v) A joint labor-management partner- 3 ship. 4 (vi) An institution of higher edu- 5 cation. 6 (vii) A State board or local board. 7 (viii) A nonprofit organization. 8 (ix) An industry or sector partnership. 9 (x) An industry association. 10 (xi) A joint labor-management organi- 11 zation. 12 (xii) A consortium of organizations 13 that provide technical assistance to support 14 and to increase the development of reg- 15 istered apprenticeship programs. 16 (xiii) Any other entity that the Sec- 17 retary considers to be appropriate. 18 SEC. 4. WORKFORCE INTERMEDIARIES GRANT PROGRAM. 19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—From amounts made avail- 20 able to carry out this Act, the Secretary shall establish 21 and carry out a workforce intermediaries grant program 22 by awarding grants, on a competitive basis, to workforce 23 intermediaries, to enable the workforce intermediaries to 24 engage a variety of stakeholders, such as local boards, sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2900.IH H2900 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2900 IH ondary schools, institutions of higher education, and em- 1 ployers, to support, develop, and implement registered ap- 2 prenticeship programs in accordance with section 6. 3 (b) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this Act 4 shall be for a period of not more than 4 years. 5 (c) AMOUNT.—A grant awarded under this Act shall 6 be in an amount of not more than $6,000,000, and such 7 amount shall be determined based on the relative number 8 of apprentices a workforce intermediary plans to facilitate. 9 (d) GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.—In awarding grants 10 under this Act, the Secretary shall ensure that there is 11 geographic diversity in the areas in which activities will 12 be carried out under the grants. 13 (e) MATCHING FUNDS.—A workforce intermediary 14 receiving a grant under this Act shall provide matching 15 funds, from non-Federal sources, for the activities sup- 16 ported under the grant. The matching funds shall be in 17 an amount that is not less than 20 percent of the amount 18 of grant funds provided under the grant. 19 SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—A workforce intermediary desiring 21 a grant under this Act shall submit an application to the 22 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 23 such information as the Secretary may require. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2900.IH H2900 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2900 IH (b) CONTENTS.—The application described in sub- 1 section (a) shall include— 2 (1) information regarding— 3 (A) in the case of a workforce intermediary 4 described in section 3(10)(A)(i), the extent to 5 which the workforce intermediary is working, as 6 of the date of the application, with stakeholders 7 to provide activities such as the activities de- 8 scribed in section 6; or 9 (B) in the case of a workforce intermediary 10 described in section 3(10)(A)(ii), the capacity of 11 the workforce intermediary to begin providing 12 activities described in section 6 upon receipt of 13 the grant, including information demonstrating 14 that the workforce intermediary would be suc- 15 cessful in carrying out such activities; 16 (2) information regarding the extent to which 17 the grant will help the workforce intermediary— 18 (A) expand apprenticeships for in-demand 19 industry sectors that lack apprenticeships at the 20 time of the application; or 21 (B) target populations that are underrep- 22 resented— 23 (i) in apprenticeships generally; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2900.IH H2900 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2900 IH (ii) in the fields in which the appren- 1 tices will be trained; 2 (3) assurances that— 3 (A) the workforce intermediary will cooper- 4 ate in the evaluation of the project conducted 5 under section 7; and 6 (B) the workforce intermediary will meet 7 the matching requirement under section 4(e); 8 (4) information about the workforce 9 intermediary’s— 10 (A) experience in providing activities de- 11 scribed in section 6 and capacity, or ability to 12 develop or expand capacity, to provide such ac- 13 tivities; 14 (B) experience working in a collaborative 15 environment with government and nongovern- 16 mental entities; 17 (C) ability to raise or provide funding to 18 cover operating costs for the long-term sustain- 19 ability of the activities supported under the 20 grant; and 21 (D) capacity and infrastructure to track 22 outcomes and measure results, including capac- 23 ity to track and analyze program performance 24 and assess program impact; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2900.IH H2900 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2900 IH (5) information describing how the workforce 1 intermediary will promote the diversity described in 2 section 6(b)(1)(F). 3 SEC. 6. USE OF FUNDS. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—A workforce intermediary that re- 5 ceives a grant under this Act shall use the grant funds 6 to carry out activities, which may include activities de- 7 scribed in subsection (b) or other strategies as may be nec- 8 essary, that support the development and successful imple- 9 mentation of registered apprenticeship programs. 10 (b) SUGGESTED USES.—A workforce intermediary 11 may carry out subsection (a) through 1 or more of the 12 following activities, as determined appropriate by the Sec- 13 retary: 14 (1) OUTREACH AND MARKETING.—A workforce 15 intermediary may provide services to engage employ- 16 ers in registered apprenticeship programs, which 17 may include— 18 (A) marketing apprenticeships regionally, 19 to employers and to potential apprentices; 20 (B) marketing apprenticeships to sec- 21 ondary school students, counselors, school ad- 22 ministrators, or parents; 23 (C) recruiting and evaluating candidates 24 for apprenticeships; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2900.IH H2900 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2900 IH (D) conducting outreach to employers to 1 persuade the employers to adopt the apprentice- 2 ship model; 3 (E) matching employers with apprentices; 4 and 5 (F) promoting diversity among apprentices 6 by promoting outreach to underrepresented 7 populations (such as women and minorities), 8 youth, individuals with disabilities (as defined 9 in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities 10 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)), and veterans. 11 (2) EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT.—The workforce 12 intermediary may provide services to engage employ- 13 ers in, and develop curricula for, registered appren- 14 ticeship programs, which may include assisting a 15 small or medium-sized employer with— 16 (A) designing a curriculum for a registered 17 apprenticeship program that blends occupation- 18 specific skills and general industry skills; 19 (B) designing a comprehensive training 20 plan for apprentices; 21 (C) navigating the registration process for 22 the registered apprenticeship program; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2900.IH H2900 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2900 IH (D) identifying skills, both technical and 1 behavioral, needed to perform the occupation in 2 question; 3 (E) providing training to managers and 4 front-line employees to serve as trainers or 5 mentors to apprentices in the registered appren- 6 ticeship program; 7 (F) paying for the cost of off-site training 8 provided to apprentices; 9 (G) coordinating activities between training 10 instructors and worksite supervisors of appren- 11 tices; 12 (H) conducting or arranging for off-the-job 13 training related to the apprenticeship; 14 (I) convening employers to define skills for 15 the registered apprenticeship program; and 16 (J) developing occupational standards that 17 are nationally recognized and portable to help 18 guide employers and sponsors in establishing 19 new registered apprenticeship programs. 20 (3) SUPPORT SERVICES FOR APPRENTICES.— 21 The workforce intermediary may provide support 22 services for [Text truncated for display. 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