To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to authorize the use of individual training accounts for certain youth.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Moran (for himself and Mr. Smucker) introduced the following …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Building Youth Workforce Skills Act expands access to job training for young people by allowing them to use individual training accounts (ITAs) - a funding system that gives people vouchers to pay for career training at approved schools and programs. Currently, only adults and laid-off workers can use ITAs under the federal workforce development program. This bill extends that option to in-school youth ages 16-21 and out-of-school youth.
Who Benefits and How
Young people ages 16-21 benefit by gaining access to individual training accounts that pay for vocational training, apprenticeships, and career skills programs. Training providers - including community colleges, vocational schools, and apprenticeship programs - benefit from an expanded pool of students whose training is paid for with federal workforce funds. Local workforce development boards benefit from more flexibility in how they allocate youth program dollars.
Who Bears the Burden and How
There are no direct burden bearers. This bill does not create new mandates, regulations, or spending - it simply authorizes local workforce areas to use existing youth program funds in a new way. The bill gives permission rather than imposing requirements.
Key Provisions
• Amends the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to authorize individual training accounts for youth
• Allows in-school youth ages 16-21 to receive training through the same ITA system used for adults
• Allows out-of-school youth to access individual training accounts for career training
• Local workforce areas can use their existing youth program allocations to fund these ITAs
• Training must come from approved providers and cover services already defined in WIOA, such as occupational skills training, on-the-job training, and skills upgrading
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Authorizes use of individual training accounts to fund training services for in-school youth (ages 16-21) and out-of-school youth under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Expand access to workforce training by extending an existing, proven funding mechanism (individual training accounts) from adults/dislocated workers to youth populations"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Youth ages 16-21 (both in-school and out-of-school) - gain access to individual training accounts for career training
- Training service providers (vocational schools, community colleges, apprenticeship programs) - expanded eligible student base
- Local workforce development boards - increased flexibility in allocating youth funds
Likely Burden Bearers
- No direct burden bearers - this is a permissive expansion of existing program authority, not a mandate or new cost
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "local_area"
- → Local workforce development area as defined in WIOA Section 3
- "eligible_provider"
- → Eligible provider of training services under WIOA Section 122(d)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Entities approved to provide training services under Section 122(d) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
Training services as defined in Section 134(c)(3) of WIOA, including occupational skills training, on-the-job training, programs that combine workplace training with related instruction, and skills upgrading and retraining
Youth aged 16-21 who are attending school (as defined in WIOA Section 129)
Youth who are not attending school (as defined in WIOA Section 129)
A funding mechanism that allows eligible individuals to select training providers and programs, with funds paid directly to the provider on behalf of the participant
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology