,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #agcc ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #ac1 #bjai,mr4 ,moulton 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,herrera ,beutler1 ,mr4 ,kilmer1 ,mr4 ,emmer1 ,miss ,rice of ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,fitzpatrick1 ,mrs4 ,murphy1 ,mr4 ,himes1 ,mr4 ,ryan1 ,mr4 ,o',halleran1 and ,mr4 ,lamb7 introduced the following bill2 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 sector1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,c,hampioning ,apprenticeships for ,new ,careers and ,employees in ,t,e,c,hnology ,act or the ,,chance in ,,tech ,act4 #b4 ,congressional findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,during any given #ij-;day period there can be more than #ejj1jjj information technology job openings in the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,employment in the technology sector is growing twice as fast as employment in the ,united ,states4 7#c7 ,jobs in the technology sector tend to provide higher pay and better benefits than other jobs and have been more resilient to economic downturn than jobs available in other private sector industries4 7#d7 ,information technology skills are transferable across nearly all industries4 7#e7 ,exceptional education and on-the-job training programs exist and should be scaled to meet the demands of the modern technology workforce4 7#f7 ,adoption of existing employer-driven intermediary models1 such as ,apprenticeship,u,s,a under the ,department of ,labor1 will help grow the information technology workforce4 7#g7 ,career pathway education should start in high school through pathways and programs of study that align with local and regional employer needs4 7#h7 ,preparing a student for a job in the technology sector is essential to the growth and competitiveness of the economy in the ,united ,states in the #bast century4 7#i7 ,nearly #hjj1jjj information technology workers will retire between #bjag and #bjbd4 7#aj7 ,in #bjaf1 the average salary in the information technology sector was #ajh1jjj1 while the average salary among all other sectors was #ec1jdj4 #c4 ,technology apprenticeship contracts 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,labor 7referred to in this section as the ,secretary7 shall enter into contracts with industry intermediaries for the purpose of promoting the development of and access to apprenticeships in the technology sector1 from amounts appropriated under subsection 7e74 7b7 ,eligibility ,to be eligible to be awarded a contract under this section1 an industry intermediary shall submit an application to the ,secretary1 at such time and in such a manner as may be required by the ,secretary1 that identifies proposed activities designed to further the purpose described in subsection 7a74 7c7 ,selection ,the ,secretary shall award contracts under this section based on competitive criteria to be prescribed by the ,secretary4 7d7 ,contractor activities ,an industry intermediary that is awarded a contract under this section may only use the funds made available through such contract to carry out activities designed to further the purpose described in subsection 7a71 including-- 7#a7 facilitating the provision and development of apprenticeships in the technology sector through collaborations with public and private entities that provide job-related instruction1 such as on-the-job training1 pre-apprenticeship training1 and technical training2 7#b7 encouraging entities to establish such apprenticeships2 7#c7 identifying1 assessing1 and training applicants for such apprenticeships who are-- 7,a7 enrolled in high school2 7,b7 enrolled in an early college high school that focuses on education in ,,stem subjects2 7,c7 individuals aged #ah years or older who meet appropriate qualification standards2 or 7,d7 enrolled in pre-apprenticeship or apprenticeship training initiatives that allow adults to concurrently increase academic and workforce skills through proven1 evidence-based models that connect all learning to the specific apprenticeship involved and significantly accelerate completion of preparation for the apprenticeship2 and 7#d7 tracking the progress of such applicants who participate in such apprenticeships4 #d4 ,,chance in ,,tech ,awards for #bast ,century ,schools 7a7 ,awards authorized ,the ,secretary of ,education may issue awards1 to be known as ,,chance in ,,tech ,awards for #bast ,century ,schools1 to schools 7referred to in this section as covered schools7 that-- 7#a7 are secondary schools or junior or community colleges2 and 7#b7 demonstrate high achievement in providing students necessary skills to compete in the #bast century workforce4 7b7 ,criteria ,in selecting a covered school for an award under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall take into account-- 7#a7 the availability of ,,stem1 career and technical education1 and computer technology courses at the covered school2 7#b7 ,state academic assessments1 as described in section #aaa7;b77#b7 of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #fcaa7;b77#b771 of students at the covered school in ,,stem subjects2 7#c7 any coordination between the covered school and local and regional employers in the technology sector for the purpose of providing work-based learning programs such as apprenticeships and internships2 and 7#d7 the availability of individualized plans provided by the covered school to students relating to postsecondary education or training1 career paths1 and financial aid4 #e4 ,funding ,there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this ,act such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year #bjai and each subsequent fiscal year4 #f4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,apprenticeship ,the term apprenticeship means an apprenticeship registered under the ,act of ,august #af1 #aicg 7commonly known as the 8,national ,apprenticeship ,act02 #ej ,stat4 #ffd1 chapter #ffc2 #bi ,u4,s4,c4 #ej et seq474 7#b7 ,career and technical education ,the term career and technical education has the meaning given such term in section #c of the ,carl ,d4 ,perkins ,career and ,technical ,education ,act of #bjjf 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #bcjb74 7#c7 ,early college high school ,the term early college high school has the meaning given such term in section #haja of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ghja74 7#d7 ,high school ,the term high school has the meaning given such term in section #haja of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ghja74 7#e7 ,industry intermediary ,the term industry intermediary means an entity that-- 7,a7 in order to accelerate apprenticeship program development and help establish new apprenticeship partnerships at the national1 ,state1 or regional level1 serves as a conduit between an employer and an entity1 such as-- 7i7 an industry partner2 7ii7 the ,department of ,labor2 and 7iii7 a ,state agency responsible for workforce development programs2 7,b7 demonstrates a capacity to work with employers and other key partners to identify workforce trends and foster public-private funding to establish new apprenticeship programs2 and 7,c7 is an entity such as-- 7i7 a business2 7ii7 a consortium of businesses2 7iii7 a business-related nonprofit organization1 including industry associations and business federations2 7iv7 a private organization functioning as a workforce intermediary for the express purpose of serving the needs of businesses1 including community-based nonprofit service providers and industry-aligned training providers2 or 7v7 a consortium of any of the entities described in clauses 7i7 through 7iv74 7#f7 ,institution of higher education ,the term institution of higher education has the meaning given such term in section #ajb of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajjb74 7#g7 ,junior or community college ,the term junior or community college has the meaning given the term in section #cab7;f7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajeh7;f774 7#h7 ,local educational agency ,the term local educational agency has the meaning given such term in section #haja of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ghja74 7#i7 ,secondary school ,the term secondary school has the meaning given such term in section #haja of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ghja74 7#aj7 ,state educational agency ,the term ,state educational agency has the meaning given such term in section #haja of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ghja74 7#aa7 ,,stem ,the term ,,stem means science1 technology1 engineering1 and mathematics4 7#ab7 ,technology sector ,the term technology sector means the industry sector involved in the design or development of hardware1 software1 or security of digital data4