II
118THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION S. 2200
To promote registered apprenticeships and on-the-job training for small and
medium-sized businesses within in-demand industry sectors, through the
establishment and support of eligible partnerships.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JUNE22, 2023
Ms. B
ALDWIN(for herself and Mr. HICKENLOOPER) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu-
cation, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To promote registered apprenticeships and on-the-job train-
ing for small and medium-sized businesses within in-
demand industry sectors, through the establishment and
support of eligible partnerships.
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 ‘‘Promoting Apprentice-4
ships through Regional Training Networks for Employers’ 5
Required Skills Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘PARTNERS Act 6
of 2023’’. 7
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SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 1
The purpose of this Act is to promote registered ap-2
prenticeships and on-the-job training for small and me-3
dium-sized businesses within in-demand industry sectors, 4
through the establishment and support of eligible partner-5
ships. 6
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 7
In this Act: 8
(1) E
LIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘eligi-9
ble partnership’’ means an industry or sector part-10
nership that submits and obtains approval of an ap-11
plication consistent with section 6(b). 12
(2) I
N-DEMAND INDUSTRY SECTOR .—The term 13
‘‘in-demand industry sector’’ means a sector de-14
scribed in subparagraphs (A)(i) and (B) of section 15
3(23) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 16
Act (29 U.S.C. 3102(23)). 17
(3) L
OCAL OR REGIONAL.—The term ‘‘local or 18
regional’’, used with respect to an entity, means that 19
the entity provides services in, respectively, a local 20
area or region. 21
(4) R
EGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP .—The term 22
‘‘registered apprenticeship’’ means an apprenticeship 23
registered under the Act of August 16, 1937 (com-24
monly known as the ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’; 25
50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 26
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(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1
the Secretary of Labor. 2
(6) W
ORKFORCE TERMS .—The terms ‘‘Gov-3
ernor’’, ‘‘individual with a barrier to employment’’, 4
‘‘industry or sector partnership’’, ‘‘local area’’, ‘‘on- 5
the-job training’’, ‘‘outlying area’’, ‘‘recognized post-6
secondary credential’’, ‘‘region’’, ‘‘State’’, and ‘‘sup-7
portive services’’, used with respect to activities sup-8
ported under this Act, have the meanings given the 9
terms in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 10
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 11
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 12
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 13
as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 14
SEC. 5. ALLOTMENTS TO STATES. 15
(a) R
ESERVATION.—Of the amounts available for this 16
Act under section 4, the Secretary may reserve— 17
(1) not more than 5 percent of those amounts 18
for the costs of technical assistance and Federal ad-19
ministration of this Act; 20
(2) not more than 2 percent of those amounts 21
for the costs of evaluations conducted under section 22
8(b); and 23
(3) not more than
1
∕4of 1 percent of such 24
amounts to provide assistance to the outlying areas. 25
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(b) ALLOTMENTS.— 1
(1) I
N GENERAL.—Of the amounts available for 2
this Act under section 4 that remain after the Sec-3
retary makes the reservations under subsection (a), 4
the Secretary shall, for the purpose of assisting 5
(which may include assistance in establishing origi-6
nal or expanded) local or regional eligible partner-7
ships to support registered apprenticeship and on- 8
the-job training programs under this Act, make al-9
lotments to eligible States in accordance with clauses 10
(ii) through (v) of section 132(b)(1)(B) of the Work-11
force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 12
3172(b)(1)(B)), subject to paragraph (2). 13
(2) A
PPLICATION.—For purposes of applying 14
the clauses described in paragraph (1), under para-15
graph (1), the Secretary— 16
(A) shall not apply subclauses (I) and (III) 17
of clause (iv) with respect to the first fiscal year 18
after the date of enactment of this Act; 19
(B) shall apply clause (iv)(II) by sub-20
stituting ‘‘0.5 percent of the remaining amounts 21
described in paragraph (1) (referring to the 22
paragraph (1) in the PARTNERS Act)’’ for the 23
total described in that clause; 24
(C) shall not apply clause (iv)(IV); 25
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(D) shall apply clause (v)(II) by sub-1
stituting ‘‘The term ‘allotment percentage’, 2
used with respect to the second full fiscal year 3
after the date of enactment of this Act, or a 4
subsequent fiscal year, means a percentage of 5
the remaining amounts described in paragraph 6
(1) (referring to the paragraph (1) in the 7
PARTNERS Act) that is received through an 8
allotment made under this subsection for the 9
fiscal year.’’ for the two sentences in that 10
clause; and 11
(E) shall apply clause (v)(III) by sub-12
stituting ‘‘a registered apprenticeship and on- 13
the-job training program carried out under this 14
Act’’ for ‘‘a program of workforce investment 15
activities carried out under this subtitle’’. 16
(3) U
SE OF UNALLOTTED FUNDS .—If a State 17
fails to meet the requirements for an allotment 18
under this subsection, the Secretary may allot funds 19
that are not allotted under paragraphs (1) and (2) 20
to eligible States under a formula based on the for-21
mula specified in section 132(c) of the Workforce In-22
novation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3172(c)). 23
(4) D
EFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 24
‘‘eligible State’’ means a State that meets the re-25
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quirements of section 102 or 103 of the Workforce 1
Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3112, 2
3113) and subsection (c). 3
(c) S
TATEELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive an 4
allotment under subsection (b), a State shall submit an 5
application to the Secretary, at such time, in such manner, 6
and containing a description of the activities to be carried 7
out with the grant funds. At a minimum, the application 8
shall include information on— 9
(1) the industry or sector of the local or re-10
gional industry or sector partnerships that will be 11
supported, the lead partners for the partnerships, 12
and how the partnerships will work to engage small 13
and medium-sized businesses, as applicable, in the 14
activities of the partnerships; 15
(2) the in-demand industry sectors that will be 16
served, including how such industry sectors were 17
identified, and how the activities of the partnerships 18
will align with State, regional, and local plans as re-19
quired under title I of the Workforce Innovation and 20
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3111 et seq.); 21
(3) the registered apprenticeship and on-the-job 22
training programs to be supported though the part-23
nerships; 24
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(4) the populations that will receive services, in-1
cluding individuals with barriers to employment and 2
populations that were historically underrepresented 3
in the industry sectors to be served through the 4
partnerships; 5
(5) the services, including business engagement, 6
classroom instruction, and supportive services (in-7
cluding at least 6 months of post-employment sup-8
portive services), that will be supported through the 9
grant funds; 10
(6) the recognized postsecondary credentials 11
(beyond a certificate of completion) that workers will 12
obtain through participation in the registered ap-13
prenticeship and on-the-job training programs, and 14
the quality of the programs that lead to the creden-15
tials; 16
(7) levels of performance to be achieved on the 17
performance indicators described in section 8, to 18
measure progress towards expanding registered ap-19
prenticeships and on-the-job training; and 20
(8) how the partnerships will leverage addi-21
tional resources, including funding provided under 22
title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 23
Act (29 U.S.C. 3111 et seq.) and non-Federal re-24
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sources, to support the activities carried out under 1
this Act. 2
(d) R
EVIEW OFAPPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall 3
review applications submitted under subsection (c) in con-4
sultation with the Secretary of Education and the Sec-5
retary of Health and Human Services. 6
SEC. 6. GRANTS TO PARTNERSHIPS. 7
(a) G
RANTS.— 8
(1) I
N GENERAL.—The Governor of a State 9
that receives an allotment under section 5 shall use 10
the funds made available through the allotment and 11
not reserved under subsection (d) to award grants to 12
industry or sector partnerships that seek to become 13
eligible partnerships. The Governor shall award the 14
grants for the purpose of assisting (which may in-15
clude establishing original or expanded) local or re-16
gional industry or sector partnerships that are iden-17
tified in the application submitted under section 18
5(c), to carry out activities described in section 7. 19
(2) P
ERIOD AND AMOUNT OF GRANT .—A State 20
may make a grant under this section for a period of 21
3 years, and in an amount of not more than 22
$500,000. 23
(3) A
VAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—The Governor of 24
a State that receives an allotment under section 5 25
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for a fiscal year may use the funds made available 1
through the allotment during that year or the 2 sub-2
sequent fiscal years. 3
(b) E
LIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 4
under this section, an industry or sector partnership de-5
scribed in subsection (a)(1) shall— 6
(1) submit an application to the State at such 7
time, in such manner, and containing such informa-8
tion as the State may require; and 9
(2) designate, in the application, a partner in 10
the industry or sector partnership, to serve as the 11
fiscal agent for purposes of the grant. 12
(c) A
WARDS OFGRANTS.— 13
(1) P
ARTICIPATION IN MULTIPLE ELIGIBLE 14
PARTNERSHIPS.—Subject to paragraph (2), a State 15
may award grants under this section in a way that 16
results in an entity being represented in more than 17
one partnership that receives such a grant. 18
(2) G
EOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY .—In making the 19
grants, a State shall ensure that there is geographic 20
diversity in the areas in which activities will be car-21
ried out under the grants. 22
(d) A
DMINISTRATION.—The State may reserve not 23
more than 5 percent of the amount of an allotment under 24
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section 5 for the administration of the grants awarded 1
under this section. 2
SEC. 7. USE OF FUNDS. 3
(a) I
NGENERAL.—An eligible partnership that re-4
ceives a grant under section 6 shall use the grant funds 5
to support a registered apprenticeship and on-the-job 6
training program. The eligible partnership shall use the 7
grant funds to support the activities described in sub-8
sections (b) and (c) and such other strategies as may be 9
necessary to support the development and implementation 10
of a registered apprenticeship and on-the-job training pro-11
gram, and participant retention in and completion of that 12
program. The partnership may use the grant funds to es-13
tablish an original or expanded eligible partnership. 14
(b) B
USINESSENGAGEMENT.—The eligible partner-15
ship shall use grant funds to provide services to engage 16
businesses in a registered apprenticeship or on-the-job 17
training program, which may include assisting a small or 18
medium-sized business with— 19
(1) the navigation of the registration process 20
for a sponsor of a registered apprenticeship pro-21
gram; 22
(2) the connection of the business with an edu-23
cation provider to develop classroom instruction to 24
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complement learning through a registered appren-1
ticeship or on-the-job learning; 2
(3) the development of a curriculum for a reg-3
istered apprenticeship or on-the-job training pro-4
gram; 5
(4) the employment of workers in a registered 6
apprenticeship or on-the-job training program for a 7
transitional period before the business hires an indi-8
vidual for continuing employment; 9
(5) the provision of training to managers and 10
front-line workers to serve as trainers or mentors to 11
workers in a registered apprenticeship or on-the-job 12
training program; 13
(6) the provision of career awareness activities; 14
and 15
(7) the recruitment of individuals to participate 16
in a registered apprenticeship or on-the-job training 17
program from individuals receiving additional work-18
force and human services, including— 19
(A) workers in programs under the Work-20
force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 21
U.S.C. 3101 et seq.); 22
(B) recipients of assistance through the 23
supplemental nutrition assistance program es-24
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tablished under the Food and Nutrition Act of 1
2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); and 2
(C) recipients of assistance through the 3
program of block grants to States for tem-4
porary assistance for needy families established 5
under part A of title IV of the Social Security 6
Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). 7
(c) S
UPPORTIVESERVICES FORWORKERS.— 8
(1) I
N GENERAL.—The eligible partnership 9
shall use grant funds to provide supportive services 10
for workers to assure their success in a registered 11
apprenticeship or on-the-job training program, which 12
may include— 13
(A) connection of individuals with adult 14
basic education; 15
(B) connection of individuals with a pre- 16
apprenticeship program or other preparation for 17
a registered apprenticeship or on-the-job train-18
ing program; 19
(C) provision of additional mentorship and 20
retention supports for individuals during pre- 21
apprenticeship or other preparation for a reg-22
istered apprenticeship or on-the-job training 23
program, and during periods of employment for 24
such a program; 25
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(D) provision of tools, work attire, and 1
other required items necessary to start such 2
employment; and 3
(E) provision of transportation, child care 4
services, or other wrap-around services. 5
(2) L
ENGTH OF SERVICES.—Each eligible part-6
nership shall provide supportive services for workers 7
for not less than 12 months after the date of place-8
ment of an individual in a registered apprenticeship 9
or on-the-job training program. That 12-month pe-10
riod shall include a period of pre-apprenticeship or 11
other preparation for the program, a transitional pe-12
riod of employment as described in subsection 13
(b)(4), and a period of continuing employment. 14
SEC. 8. PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY. 15
(a) L
OCALREPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after 16
receiving a grant under section 6, and annually thereafter, 17
each eligible partnership in a State shall conduct an eval-18
uation and submit to the State a local report containing 19
information on— 20
(1) levels of performance achieved by the eligi-21
ble partnership with respect to the performance indi-22
cators under section 116(b)(2)(A) of the Workforce 23
Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 24
3141(b)(2)(A))— 25
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(A) for all workers (including apprentices) 1
in the program involved; and 2
(B) for all such workers, disaggregated by 3
each population specified in section 3(24) of the 4
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 5
U.S.C. 3102(24)) and by race, ethnicity, sex, 6
and age; and 7
(2) levels of performance achieved by the eligi-8
ble partnership with respect to the performance indi-9
cators under that section 116(b)(2)(A)— 10
(A) for individuals with barriers to employ-11
ment in the program involved; and 12
(B) for all such individuals, disaggregated 13
by each population specified in section 3(24) of 14
the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 15
and by race, ethnicity, sex, and age. 16
(b) S
TATEREPORTS.—Not later than 24 months 17
after receiving initial local reports under subsection (a) 18
(but in no case less than 18 months after the cor-19
responding grants are awarded) and annually thereafter, 20
the State shall conduct an evaluation and submit a report 21
to the Secretary containing— 22
(1) the information provided by the eligible 23
partnerships through the local reports; and 24
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(2) the State level of performance, aggregated 1
across all eligible partnerships, with respect to the 2
performance indicators described in subsection (a). 3
SEC. 9. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS; AMERICAN COMPETI-4
TIVENESS AND WORKFORCE IMPROVEMENT 5
ACT OF 1998. 6
Section 414(c) of the American Competitiveness and 7
Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 3224a) 8
is repealed. 9
Æ
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