HR 2910
Youth Workforce Readiness Act of 2025
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Bill overview
The Youth Workforce Readiness Act of 2025 aims to support out-of-school-time programs that help young people develop skills for the workforce. It establishes a competitive grant program for community-based organizations to provide employability skills, career exploration, and work-based learning opportunities to eligible youth. The goal is to improve workforce readiness and connect young people with employers, particularly in underserved communities. The bill also includes provisions to establish youth councils within local workforce boards to ensure youth voices are considered in workforce development planning.
Key provisions
- Creates a competitive grant program for out-of-school-time youth workforce readiness programs.
- Supports services like career exploration, work-based learning, and mentoring.
- Defines ‘eligible youth’ as individuals aged 6-18 (or 19 if enrolled in secondary school).
- Establishes requirements for community-based organizations and covered partnerships.
- Requires grant recipients to establish partnerships with industry and local educational agencies.
- Includes provisions for youth councils within local workforce boards to advise on youth-related decisions.
- Authorizes appropriations of $100,000,000 per year from 2026-2030.
- Mandates evaluation of programs and reporting of results to Congress.
Who is affected
- Youth (ages 6-18)
- Community-based organizations
- Local educational agencies
- Employers
- State and local governments
Notable changes
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119th CONGRESS — 1st Session
H. R. 2910
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To establish a competitive grant program to support out-of-school-time youth workforce readiness programs, providing employability skills development, career exploration, employment readiness training, mentoring, work-based learning, and workforce opportunities for eligible youth.
This Act may be cited as the Youth Workforce Readiness Act of 2025
.
The purpose of this Act is to establish or expand activities to—
increase access and opportunities for youth to obtain the education and training that youth need to succeed in the labor market;
support engagement in and the integration of programs and activities offered during out-of-school-time hours through the workforce investment, education, and economic development systems;
improve the quality of the workforce and meet the skill requirements of employers;
engage employers in addressing the training, skill, and employment needs of youth and youth jobseekers, and fostering opportunities for connection and economic mobility; and
include younger youth in the education and workforce investment activities in an age and developmentally appropriate manner.
In this Act:
The term community-based organization means a youth-serving private nonprofit organization (which may include a faith-based organization) that—
is representative of a community or a significant segment of a community;
has demonstrated expertise and effectiveness in workforce development; and
has demonstrated expertise—
in the planning and delivery of education, training, and related activities that are included in a career pathway;
in forging coordination and cooperation between educators and other members of the community; and
in development and implementation of data systems that measure the progress of students and outcomes of career pathways.
The term covered partnership means a partnership between—
a community-based organization; and
an industry or sector partnership, a local educational agency, and another public entity or private employer, as appropriate.
The term eligible youth has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102), except that the individual involved shall be—
not younger than age 6; and
not older than age 18 (or age 19 if enrolled in secondary school).
The term industry or sector partnership means—
an industry or sector partnership, as defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); and
a collaborative that meets the requirements of paragraph (26) of that section 3 but also includes—
an Indian tribe or tribal organization (as such terms are defined in section 166(b) of that Act (29 U.S.C. 3221(b))), as appropriate; or
a community-based organization.
The term out-of-school-time, used with respect to a program described in section 7, means a supervised program regularly attended by eligible youth, that fosters learning and development during out-of-school-time hours, which includes hours before school, after school, during summer vacation or another school holiday, or on a Saturday or Sunday.
The term Secretary means the Secretary of Labor.
The terms career pathway, customized training, in-demand industry sector or occupation, local area, local board, local educational agency, and recognized postsecondary credential have the meanings given the terms in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).
The term workforce readiness program means an out-of-school-time program that—
meets the requirements of section 7;
is offered by a community-based organization of an eligible entity or a related covered partnership; and
is intended to help prepare eligible youth for the workforce.
Using the amounts made available under section 9, the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities.
The Secretary shall award the grants, on a competitive basis, to assist eligible entities in planning, developing, and implementing nationwide, comprehensive workforce readiness programs, that are—
in out-of-school-time programs;
carried out by community-based organizations of the eligible entity or related covered partnerships; and
for eligible youth.
To be eligible to receive a grant under section 4, an entity shall—
be a national youth-serving organization with active chapters, affiliates, or subgrant recipients, that are community-based organizations (including such organizations that are facility-based organizations) in not fewer than 35 States; and
provide programming focused on youth workforce readiness in an out-of-school-time program; and
obtain approval of an application under section 6.
To be eligible to receive a grant under section 4, an entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including—
a description of how the entity will implement a youth workforce readiness program in a manner that ensures an equitable geographic distribution of program activities, including an equitable distribution between urban and rural communities;
a description of the proposed program activities to be funded and their locations;
a description of populations of eligible youth to be served, including populations living in or from underserved communities or communities with employment disparities;
a description of the effective strategies, best practices, or evidence-based practices the workforce readiness program will use;
an assurance that the program will take place in safe and easily accessible facilities;
a demonstration of how, in implementing the proposed program activities, the entity will coordinate activities with Federal, State, and local programs and make the most effective use of public resources;
a description of—
the community-based organizations or the covered partnerships through which the entity will implement the program; and
if a covered partnership will assist in implementing the program, the collaboration and coordination activities that the community-based organization in the partnership has carried out or will carry out with other entities in the partnership, related to that implementation;
if the program includes an opportunity to earn a recognized postsecondary credential, a description of the activities leading to the credential;
an assurance that funds provided under this Act will be used to supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, or local funds expended to provide youth programs or workforce readiness programs; and
if the entity seeks to implement the workforce readiness program through a covered partnership, to establish the partnership; and
to carry out the development and implementation of a youth workforce readiness program—
that includes services to help prepare eligible youth who are not younger than age 15 for the workforce, which services shall include—
support for the use of career pathways;
paid and unpaid work experiences that have as a component academic and occupational education, which may include—
summer employment opportunities and other employment opportunities available throughout the school year;
internships and job shadowing; and
on-the-job training opportunities;
work-based learning (as defined in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302)) that provides opportunities for the application of employability skills, and hands-on work experiences through covered partnerships;
occupational skill training, which shall include priority consideration for training programs that lead to recognized postsecondary credentials that are aligned with in-demand industry sectors or occupations in the local area involved, if the local board determines that the programs meet the quality criteria described in section 123 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3153);
the provision of customized training;
education offered concurrently with and in the same context as workforce readiness activities and training for a specific occupation or occupational cluster; and
activities that help youth prepare for and transition to postsecondary education and training;
that includes services to help prepare eligible youth for the workforce, which services shall include—
leadership development opportunities, which may include community service and peer-centered activities encouraging responsibility and other positive social and civic behaviors, as appropriate;
workforce or workforce readiness opportunities;
supportive services;
adult mentoring for the period of participation and a subsequent period, for a total of not less than 12 months;
financial literacy education;
entrepreneurial skills training;
services that provide labor market and employment information about in-demand industry sectors or occupations available in the local area, such as career awareness, career counseling, and career exploration services;
activities to develop fundamental workforce readiness skills, or to develop employability skills (such as communication, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking) that support social-emotional development through every developmental stage, in both formal and informal learning experiences;
career exposure, through mentoring and targeted programming, offered by local industry or sector partnerships, to provide career assessments and education and career planning; and
that may include—
the provision of professional development (as defined in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302)) for training educators and other providers of educational services who participate in the workforce readiness program; and
developing assets and resources that assist an employer or groups of employers or sectors in working with eligible youth.
The eligible entity may use the grant funds, with the approval of the Secretary, to award subgrants to eligible organizations to carry out activities through a youth workforce readiness program.
The Secretary shall submit a report containing the results of the evaluation to the appropriate committees of Congress, and make the report available to the public.
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
There shall be established, as a subgroup within each local board, a youth council appointed by the local board, in cooperation with the chief elected official for the local area.
The membership of each youth council shall include representatives with special interest or professional expertise with youth workforce development programs, activities related to youth workforce readiness, youth workforce investment activities, local labor or joint labor-management organizations, and education related representatives—
membership may include—
members of the local board with special interest or expertise in youth workforce readiness or youth workforce development;
local labor or joint labor-management organizations with a special interest or expertise in youth workforce readiness or youth workforce development; representatives of the workforce, in the local area, with a special interest or expertise in youth workforce readiness or youth workforce development;
representatives of entities administering education and training activities, including career and technical education activities, in the local area, with special interest or expertise in youth workforce readiness or youth workforce development;
representatives of youth service agencies, including juvenile justice, local law enforcement agencies, and representatives of local public housing authorities;
parents of eligible youth, and current or former youth program participants;
representatives of vulnerable populations (including foster youth, minority youth, and youth with disabilities);
community representatives, employers of eligible youth, and workplace learning advisors, with experience relating to youth workforce activities; and
representatives of the Job Corps; and
may include such other individuals as the chairperson of the local board, in cooperation with the chief elected official, determines to be appropriate.
Members of the youth council who are not otherwise members of the local board shall be voting members of the youth council and nonvoting members of the board.
The duties of the youth council shall include—
representing the interests of youth before the local board;
collaborating with the local board to ensure programs address youth workforce development and youth workforce readiness; and
advising the local board on the inclusion and incorporation of the local youth workforce in decisions, as appropriate.
Section 102(b)(2)(C) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3112(b)(2)(C)) is amended—
in clause (vii), by striking and
at the end;
by redesignating clause (viii) as clause (ix); and
by inserting after clause (vii) the following:
how the local boards in the State are incorporating the recommendations of the youth councils within the local boards; and
Section 108(b) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3123(b)) is amended—
in paragraph (21), by striking and
at the end;
by redesignating paragraph (22) as paragraph (23); and
by inserting after paragraph (21) the following:
how the local board is incorporating the recommendations of the youth council within the local board; and
Section 116(d) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3141(d)) is amended—
in paragraph (2)—
in subparagraph (K), by striking and
at the end;
by redesignating subparagraph (L) as subparagraph (M); and
by inserting after subparagraph (K) the following:
information on the activities carried out in the State on the recommendation of youth councils in the State; and
in paragraph (3)—
in subparagraph (A), by striking (L)
and inserting (M)
;
in subparagraph (B), by striking and
at the end;
by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D); and
by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
information on the activities carried out in the local area on the recommendation of the youth council within the local board; and