FOA-ETA-20-13.pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE H-1B ONE WORKFORCE GRANT PROGRAM

ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Initial

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: FOA-ETA-20-13

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NUMBER: 17.268

KEY DATES: The closing date for receipt of applications under this Announcement is November 12, 2020. We must receive applications no later than 4:00:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

On approximately October 7, 2020, a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page about the H-1B One Workforce Grant Program will be available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/skills-grants/h1-b-skills-training. Please check this link frequently for future updates, as additional FAQs may be added. A pre-recorded Prospective Applicant Webinar will be available at the same link on approximately October 7, 2020 and available for viewing any time after that date.

While a review of this Webinar is strongly encouraged to support successful grant applications, it is not mandatory.

ADDRESSES: Address mailed applications to:

The U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, Office of Grants Management Attention: Brinda Ruggles, Grant Officer Reference FOA-ETA-20-13 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N4716 Washington, D.C. 20210

For complete application and submission information, including online application instructions, please refer to Section IV.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. PROGRAM PURPOSE

B. PROGRAM AUTHORITY

C. TARGET INDUSTRIES AND OCCUPATIONS

D. GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE

E. PROGRAM DESIGN AND ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES

1. Career Pathways

2. Training and Education Services

3. Supportive Service Strategies

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. AWARD TYPE AND AMOUNT

B. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

B. COST SHARING OR MATCHING

C. OTHER INFORMATION

1. Application Screening Criteria

2. Number of Applications Applicants May Submit

3. Eligible Participants

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. HOW TO OBTAIN AN APPLICATION PACKAGE

B. CONTENT AND FORM OF APPLICATION SUBMISSION

1. SF-424, “Application for Federal Assistance”

2. Project Budget

3. Project Narrative

4. Attachments to the Project Narrative

C. SUBMISSION DATE, TIME, PROCESS, AND ADDRESS

1. Hardcopy Submission

2. Electronic Submission through Grants.gov

D. INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW

E. FUNDING RESTRICTIONS

1. Indirect Costs

2. Intellectual Property Rights

3. Use of Grant Funds for Participant Wages

4. Use of Funds for Supportive Services

5. Grant Profit

F. OTHER SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

A. CRITERIA

B. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

1. Merit Review and Selection Process

2. Risk Review Process

VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A. AWARD NOTICES

B. ADMISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS

1. Administrative Program Requirements

2. Other Legal Requirements

3. Other Administrative Standards and Provisions

4. Special Program Requirements

C. REPORTING

1. Quarterly Financial Reports

2. WIOA Primary Indicators of Performance

3. Quarterly Progress Reports

VII. AGENCY CONTACTS

VIII. OTHER INFORMATION

A. WEB-BASED RESOURCES

B. INDUSTRY COMPETENCY MODELS AND CAREER CLUSTERS

C. WORKFORCEGPS RESOURCES

D. SKILLSCOMMONS RESOURCES

E. PERFORMANCE RESOURcES

F. CLEARINGHOUSE FOR LABOR EVALUATION AND RESEARCH

IX. OMB INFORMATION COLLECTION

APPENDIX A: LIST OF H-1B INDUSTRIES

APPENDIX B: SUGGESTED PERFORMANCE OUTCOME MEASURES TABLE

APPENDIX C: SUGGESTED ABSTRACT TEMPLATE

APPENDIX D: SUGGESTED PROJECT WORK PLAN TABLE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The purpose of this funding opportunity is to encourage applicants to develop replicable, comprehensive workforce strategies for preparing the workforce for middle-to high-skilled H-1B occupations within key sectors, such as Information Technology (IT), advanced manufacturing, and transportation that are being transformed by technological advancements and automation.

To address these challenges, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U.S.

Department of Labor (DOL, or the Department, or we), announces the availability of up to $150 million in grant funds authorized under section 414(c) of the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA), as amended (codified at 29 USC 3224a) for the H-1B One Workforce grant program. We expect to fund approximately 15–30 grants, with individual grant amounts ranging from $500,000 to $10 million.

Under this FOA, applicants will form public-private partnerships to engage industry through sector partnerships to develop and deploy innovative workforce solutions to address common workforce challenges. With this funding, ETA will support the IT/cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, and transportation sectors to upskill its present workforce and train a new generation of workers to build a pipeline for the future workforce.

These public-private partnerships, referred to as H-1B One Workforce Partnerships, will leverage resources across federal, state, and local funding streams, as well as from the private sector. H-1B One Workforce Partnerships will work toward a coordinated approach to preparing a skilled workforce within an economic region. All applicants must demonstrate that they are leveraging at least 25 percent of the total amount of the grant funds requested. By engaging partners and aligning grant projects with broader workforce activities, applicants will position their projects to sustain efforts beyond the grant period of performance.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many education and training providers and employers to rethink how to deliver training. In addition to an innovative mix of training strategies, applicants are encouraged to leverage innovative modes of training delivery, including online, distance, and other technology-enabled learning. The H-1B One Workforce Partnerships will deploy training to provide individuals with skills necessary to advance along a career pathway to employment in middle- to high-skilled H-1B industries and occupations. Through this partnership, applicants will offer options for skills attainment through a variety of training models, including on-the-job training; customized training; incumbent worker training; Registered Apprenticeship Programs, Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs, and pre-apprenticeship programs; other work-based learning activities, such as paid work experience and paid internships; and classroom, competency-based, and online training strategies.

The following four types of organizations qualify as eligible lead applicants:

• Businesses, business-related nonprofit organizations, such as industry and trade associations, and organizations functioning as a workforce intermediary for the express purpose of serving the needs of an industry;

• Education and training providers, including community colleges, other community-based and faith-based organizations, and for-profit educational and training institutions;

• Entities involved in administering the public workforce system established under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA); and

• Economic development agencies.

Eligible participants served through this grant program must be at least 17 years old and not currently enrolled in secondary school within a local educational agency. Among the individuals eligible to receive training, those of interest include unemployed and underemployed individuals seeking full-time employment, and incumbent workers needing to upskill or reskill to retain employment or advance into middle- to high-skilled positions.

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. PROGRAM PURPOSE

As the nation responds to economic changes from the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing rapid technological changes and advances, the public workforce system plays an essential part in providing a skilled workforce. Economic regions are seeking workers to fill critical shortages.

To remain competitive, our nation will need to rethink how it educates and trains a pipeline of workers with digital and technology skills necessary to support the advancement of our country’s IT/cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, and transportation sectors, as well as other industries of the future that include artificial intelligence (AI), quantum information sciences (QIS), 5G/advanced communications, and biotechnology.

This Announcement solicits applications for the H-1B One Workforce grant program. The purpose of this grant program is to use up to $150 million in H-1B training funds to encourage states and economic regions to work with industry stakeholders to develop dynamic workforce strategies that train workers and jobseekers for middle- to high-skilled H-1B occupations in key industry sectors. These grants will build proof of concepts of innovative training models that can be replicated by the broader workforce system. Applicants must build support for a common vision for responding to the workforce challenges within their state and economic regions, ensuring that their projects complement and leverage, but do not duplicate existing programs.

By forging public-private partnerships—H-1B One Workforce Partnerships—applicants will bring together industry and employers, education and training providers, the workforce system, state and local government, and other entities that will work collaboratively to align resources in response to employer demand and to offer novel education and job training solutions that generate positive outcomes and results.

Toward the goal of serving one workforce, leveraged resources are a critical component of the project design. H-1B One Workforce Partnerships will share data and expertise, leverage and braid public and private financial and in-kind resources to ensure that resources are sufficient to meet the service and training needs of all participants served, and establish connections and resource sharing that will be sustained beyond the grant program. Grantees will make participants aware of other federally-funded workforce training resources from across government, including training funded by the Departments of Transportation, Commerce, Veterans Affairs, and Education, as well as employment supports funded by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, in an attempt to complement those efforts and increase coordination that is sustained beyond the grant period. As another measure to leverage these resources, applicants will also be required to pursue co-enrollment for participant services across federally-funded programs, where participants can benefit from other services. In addition to leveraging federal resources, applicants must also seek to leverage private, public, and foundation resources. All applicants must demonstrate that they will leverage at least 25 percent of the total amount of the grant funds requested.

As an effective way to build a skilled workforce that addresses knowledge and skills shortages in key industry sectors, applicants must forge industry partnerships to lead and implement dynamic sector strategies. Sector strategies focus on organizing multiple employers from a high-growth industry sector that collectively define their skill needs and the credentials they use to make hiring and advancement decisions. These sector strategies can help to align state programs and resources for employers and workers in a state or region by aligning the workforce system’s training programs to adapt to employer skill needs through sector-based career pathways to promote informed choice.

Sector strategies provide a means to engage directly with multiple employers from an industry sector across traditional boundaries. Economic regions do not typically correspond to state, county, local workforce development area, or municipal boundaries, but rather are defined by the interdependence of their people and organizations. Businesses operate in economic regions that may cross city, county, and state lines and education and economic development areas. Sector strategies work across these boundaries to identify and address specific workforce needs in almost every industry.

Applicants will propose industry sector partnerships to focus on key workforce challenges by selecting at least one of the below sector-based initiatives. With this funding, ETA will support the IT, advanced manufacturing, and transportation sectors to upskill and reskill the present workforce and innovate how they train a new generation of workers.

1. Tapping New Talent for IT While most occupations require some digital and technology skills, employment of computer and IT occupations is projected to grow 12 percent from 2018 to 2028—much faster than the average for all occupations.1 Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States had 123,000 openings in the IT industry, including software development, network administration, and cybersecurity, and IT occupations are projected to grow at about 42,230 openings per year.2 With the funding available through these grants, ETA will support innovative approaches to equipping workers with technical skills and industry-recognized certifications necessary for employment in middle- to high-skilled jobs. Applicants may opt for a mix of training strategies that work best for a variety of populations, from training older out-of-school youth who are interested in transforming their computer literacy or gaming avocations into tech careers, to transitioning service members, veterans, and military spouses, many of whom already have work experience and security clearances, to help them obtain civilian cybersecurity jobs.

2. Retooling the Advanced Manufacturing Workforce3 According to industry estimates, over the next decade nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will need to be filled due to retirements and growth in the sector. Nearly 2 million of those jobs may go unfilled due to a talent shortage. In addition to difficulties with adding skilled workers to the pipeline, businesses are struggling to keep pace with automation and provide the technical training skills needed for their existing workforce to remain competitive. In addition, with the retirement of 2 million baby boomers from manufacturing before 2025, manufacturers are losing embedded, institutional knowledge.

3. Building the Transportation Workforce of the Future Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Departments of Transportation and Labor estimated that during the period of 2012 to 2022, the transportation sector needed to hire approximately

4.6 million workers to service our transportation system. [Source: Department of Transportation/Department of Labor, 2019]. While all aspects of the transportation sector— including automobiles, aviation, and mass transit—are impacted by mobility restrictions during the pandemic, the economic recovery will require skilled workers to adapt and change with evolving transportation modes, new technologies, and increasing automation. These changes will “transform the way people and goods move about, as shared and autonomous vehicles could offer the opportunity for faster, cleaner, cheaper, and safer transportation.”4

1 Occupational and Outlook Handbook, Computer and Information Technology, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 10, 2020.

2 https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/occupational-separations-and-openings.htm.

3 Economic and Operational Impacts of COVID-19 to Manufacturers, March 2020, https://www.nam.org/coronasurvey/.

4 Burt Rea, Stephanie Stachura, Laurin Wallace, Derek M. Pankratz. “Making the future of mobility work: How the new transportation ecosystem could reshape jobs and employment” Deloitte Review, Issue 21, July 2017, https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/deloitte-review/issue-21/transportation-ecosystem-future-of-mobility-reshaping-work.html.

https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bls.gov%2Femp%2Ftables%2Foccupational-separations-and-openings.htm&data=02%7C01%7CFernkas.Robin%40dol.gov%7C4e33c0d8af4c428572d708d83d3aac5e%7C75a6305472044e0c9126adab971d4aca%7C0%7C0%7C637326669639612413&sdata=HN1H39aF11QC9sDgF2Ulyeiv301gvlG%2F%2Buat4enJhZg%3D&reserved=0 https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/authors/r/burt-rea.html https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/authors/s/stephanie-stachura.html https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/authors/w/laurin-wallace.html https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/authors/p/derek-pankratz.html https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/deloitte-review/issue-21/transportation-ecosystem-future-of-mobility-reshaping-work.html https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/deloitte-review/issue-21/transportation-ecosystem-future-of-mobility-reshaping-work.html

As our national modes of transportation change and the demands for upgrading the infrastructure for different transportation modes intensify, states need comprehensive workforce strategies for preparing the workforce to meet these demands. While individual transportation modes have assessed their own gaps in the past, moving forward it will be important for states to develop a cross-modal vision that addresses workforce development across different transportation modes.5

H-1B One Workforce Partnerships will address the workforce challenges identified in any of the above proposed sector-based initiatives. In addition, grantees will actively engage the required employer partners in implementing the sector strategy within six key areas: (1) providing leadership to the project and setting strategic direction; (2) informing the identification and mapping of the necessary skills and competencies for the program(s); (3) providing work-based learning opportunities; (4) assisting with curriculum development and program design; (5) where appropriate, informing the design of an assessment or validating credentials that will address industry skill needs; and (6) providing resources, such as mentors, the donation of facilities, faculty, equipment, or other contributions to support the proposed project, and hiring qualified training participants. Through the projects funded under this grant program, grantees will create and maintain relationships with employers and regional industry representatives throughout the duration of the project with the intention of sustaining those relationships beyond the grant period.

Building strong relationships with employers throughout the project is essential to stronger labor market focus and connections for the participants. Employers engaged in a particular sector’s strategy should commit to hire, promote, and/or retain qualified program participants completing the training. In addition, the Department is interested in providing rigorous work-based training opportunities for program participants (such as on-the-job training, Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAP) and Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAP), internships, and paid work experience) as a key component of the proposed sector-based training program.

To ensure that coordinated workforce development strategies and partnerships will be sustained beyond the period of performance, all applicants must address in their project narratives how they intend to sustain their activities and embed their lessons learned into their broader workforce strategies. This plan may include maintaining the workforce development model, strategic accomplishments, or innovations such as program designs, policy changes, and partnerships, and may include new approaches to employer engagement and new training components. As the process of designing a sustainability plan is iterative, it should begin as early as possible in the grant lifecycle. In addition, accomplishments or innovations that support a broader workforce development agenda—in particular, those that align with the strategic priorities of industry partners, the public workforce system, and economic development agencies—often have a greater likelihood of being sustained.

5 Transportation News: Transportation Workforce of the Future, September-October, 2019.

http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/trnews/trnews323.pdf.

Applicants are required to track and report participant-level characteristics and data on the proposed outcomes and outputs that the project will achieve during the period of performance.

Outcomes are measurable characteristics that directly result from the implementation of specific project design activities. Outputs are tangible products or services that result from the project.

In addition, the Department requires H-1B grants to align with and report on the six WIOA primary indicators of performance, as set forth in WIOA section 116(b)(2).6 More detail on performance reporting expectations can be found in Section IV.B.3. Project Narrative.

B. PROGRAM AUTHORITY

The H-1B One Workforce grant program is authorized under section 414(c) of the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA), as amended (codified at 29 U.S.C. 3224a). These grants are financed by a user fee paid by employers to bring foreign workers into the United States under the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program.

C. TARGET INDUSTRIES AND OCCUPATIONS

The H-1B One Workforce grant program will fund projects that create a pipeline of workers for key industry sectors that lead to well-paying, middle- and high-skilled jobs across a diversity of H-1B industries and occupations.

To help companies in the transportation, advanced manufacturing, and IT sectors reduce the need for skilled foreign workers under the H-1B visa program, applicants must design their workforce training program(s) to target one of the following:

Option 1: Occupations in an H-1B industry – Applicants may choose to expand training programs in an H-1B industry. An H-1B industry is an industry in which the Department has certified H-1B visas for occupations in that industry. Appendix A is a list of H-1B industries that are acceptable for applications. Given the focus of this FOA, these industries are IT and IT-related industries, advanced manufacturing, and professional services that include engineering and surveying occupations important to the transportation sector. Applicants may propose occupations across one or more H-1B industries, target multiple occupations within an H-1B industry, or narrow their focus to a specific occupation within an H-1B industry.

If using Option 1, applicants that do not clearly identify they are serving one of the H-1B industries identified in Appendix A will be found non-responsive and will not be considered.

Option 2: H-1B occupations – Applicants may choose to target a specific H-1B occupation(s) for which a significant number of H-1B visas has been certified, even if that occupation is not in one of the identified H-1B industries listed in Appendix A. If this occupation is not within the H-1B industries identified in Appendix A, the

6 TEGL No.14-18, Aligning Performance Accountability Reporting, Definitions, and Policies Across Workforce Employment and Training Programs Administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), March 25, 2019.

application must provide data showing that the H-1B occupation is one for which a significant number of H-1B visas have been certified and demonstrate that this occupation is related to one of the key sectors of transportation, IT, and advanced manufacturing. Applicants must use verifiable data to make this demonstration, such as data provided by DOL’s Foreign Labor Certification Data Center. Applicants may propose to serve more than one H-1B occupation.

If using Option 2, applicants that do not demonstrate they are proposing to serve an H- 1B occupation and provide justification for a specific H-1B occupation(s) on the application will be found non-responsive and will not be considered.

This grant program is designed to build individuals’ skills so they are prepared to be placed into in-demand middle- and high-skilled jobs in H-1B industries or occupations within the transportation, advanced manufacturing, and IT sectors, or occupations along a career pathway to in-demand middle- and high-skilled H-1B occupations in the three key sectors. While program participants do not need to have these skill levels to enter the H-1B One Workforce training program, grant projects must be established to help move workers along a career pathway that will result in employment in middle- and high-skilled jobs within the key industries.

D. GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE

Applicants must identify the geographic scope of the proposed project. Applicants may choose one of the following geographic scopes: local/regional, statewide, or national. The geographic scope is the physical service area in which awarded applicants will serve participants.

o Local/regional means serving a part of one state or a contiguous area that includes multiple sites in a regional workforce area or economic region that may cross more than one state.

o Statewide means serving an entire state or multiple non-contiguous sites (or economic regions) within one state.

o National means serving multiple economic regions in multiple states across the country.

The service area does not need to be contiguous.

Economic regions are defined primarily by the movement of goods, capital, labor, consumption, and other economic forces within a geographic area. Defining an economic region involves identifying the surrounding area, communities, counties, and municipalities that have similar industry and employment characteristics, looking beyond traditional political boundaries; and identifying the workforce needs of the identified areas.

Applicants that demonstrate, in their abstract, that at least one census tract within their physical service area is designated by the Secretary of Treasury as a qualified Opportunity Zone will receive two points toward their overall application score. Applicants will not receive additional points for multiple Opportunity Zones within the proposed physical service area. For more information on Opportunity Zones, go to https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/opportunity-zones-frequently-asked-questions.

Please be aware the Internal Revenue Service list provides the full 11-digit census tract number. Use the example below to identify your census tract number(s):

E. PROGRAM DESIGN AND ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES

The H-1B One Workforce grant program will build a pipeline of workers that will help position states and regions in meeting current and future workforce challenges. Successful applicants will design their grant projects from both (1) a strategic level, such as describing their planned activities for convening sector partnerships, assessing the needs of their proposed sectors within a particular geographic scope, or devising a comprehensive workforce strategy; and (2) an operational level, such as incorporating in their plans how they would implement their comprehensive workforce strategy and deploy the training activities.

Applicants must propose projects that comprise all of the following activities:

A. Build new or expand existing sector partnerships that develop a workforce strategy across state and regional workforce and related sector agencies, including employers within the proposed sector-based initiative(s) and education and training entities;

B. Establish new or expand career pathways in the proposed sector-based initiative(s) that focus on the skills, competencies, and credentials needed for jobs within the targeted H-1B industries and occupations;

C. Offer high-quality training options (such as work-based learning training models) to prepare individuals to successfully move into middle- to high-skilled employment within the targeted H-1B industries and occupations;

D. Ensure that participants receive the supportive services necessary to participate fully in employment and training activities;

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https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/opportunity-zones-frequently

E. Develop a new or leverage an existing system for reviewing and collecting data, and monitor results to assess program performance; and

F. Create a new or leverage an existing infrastructure to successfully sustain the program components and partnerships after the life of the grant.

1. Career Pathways Under this FOA, training along a career pathway may start with entry-level occupations, but must lead to employment in middle- and high-skilled positions in H-1B industries and occupations that support the development of the proposed sector-based initiative(s). Career pathways must be sector-focused and incorporate the needs and hiring opportunities of employers within a specific industry sector, and provide planned and sequenced coursework, training, and/or work experience that leads to attainment of recognized postsecondary credentials.

Projects must develop career plans for participants that will help each participant navigate and assess their various career pathway options within a specific sector strategy, including identifying skills and competencies needed for those occupations, and describing how the education and training provided will assist individuals in moving along a career pathway within the targeted industry sector. Career Pathway programs integrate academic and occupational skills training aligned with employer-validated work readiness standards and competencies. The clear sequence of coursework and/or credentials allows progression through a variety of postsecondary credentials that demonstrate marketable skills in various occupations in an industry sector.

2. Training and Education Services Projects funded under this FOA will provide a range of training and education services that lead to middle- and high-skilled jobs in the proposed sector-based initiative. An innovative mix of services will include assessment, coaching and counseling, and occupational skills training that lead to recognized postsecondary credentials.7 All projects must incorporate a strong upfront assessment component that allows for a customization of services and training to meet the needs of the program participants to get a job, retain their employment, or advance to a new position in the targeted sector. This could include the use of customized online assessment tools.

Applicants must consider including robust, comprehensive, and customized work-based learning strategies, such as On-the-Job Training; customized training for cohorts; Incumbent Worker Training; Registered Apprenticeship Programs, Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs, and pre-apprenticeship programs that articulate to grant-funded apprenticeship programs; and paid work and paid internships. Other allowable training strategies are classroom, competency-

7 See Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) No.14-18, Aligning Performance Accountability Reporting, Definitions, and Policies Across Workforce Employment and Training Programs Administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), March 25, 2019, and Training Employment Notice (TEN) No. 25-19, Understanding Postsecondary Credentials in the Public Workforce System, June 8, 2020, for information on recognized postsecondary credentials.

based, and technology-based training strategies. Co-enrolling participants into WIOA programs or other federally-funded training programs, such as those supported by the Departments of Education, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, and others, where appropriate, to leverage training costs is encouraged. The intent of co-enrollment is to meet the training and employment needs of program participants by leveraging the resources and services available through other funding sources.

Applicants may propose these strategies or a combination of these strategies to meet the needs of employers and jobs seekers and allow flexibility for program delivery. Applicants may also incorporate online training strategies and virtual service delivery models to address challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

a. On-the-Job Training (OJT) OJT can bridge the divide between unemployment and employment by addressing the gap between an individual’s skills and what is required for a particular occupation. Individuals who participated in OJT in the past have demonstrated improved labor market attachment and enhanced job tenure, as illustrated by higher rates of job placement and retention. OJT also offers participants a “learn and earn” training option, allowing individuals to learn new skills while earning a regular paycheck. OJT is distinguished from other types of workplace training, including customized training, in several ways:

• Participants are hired by an employer and earn wages during training;

• OJT is based on an individualized training plan that reflects the results of an individual skills assessment and analysis of job requirements;

• Training is conducted in the workplace under the direction of one or more of the employer’s supervisory personnel; and

• The grantee reimburses the employer for the costs of the training.

OJT has specific requirements explained in Section IV.E. Funding Restrictions. Incumbent workers are not eligible to participate in OJT.

b. Customized Training

Cohort-based customized training is designed to meet the specific requirements of an employer or group of employers with the commitment that the employer(s) hire an individual upon successful completion of the training. If applicants are proposing to leverage WIOA funding for this activity, they must work with Local Workforce Development Boards (Local WDB) and American Jobs Centers to negotiate and arrange for participants to receive individual training accounts to pay for cohort or customized training.

c. Incumbent Worker Training Incumbent Worker Training is allowable to meet the needs of employers and particularly front-line, lower-skilled, and lower-wage workers who need training to upgrade their skills to remain competitive and advance along a career ladder. Employers are encouraged to backfill those positions with unemployed and underemployed individuals. As such, ETA encourages applicants to work with employer partners to develop plans to create career pathways in middle- and high-skilled jobs for low-skill, low-wage workers by using incumbent worker training to move existing workers into higher-skill jobs in H-1B occupations and industries. This may also include customized cohort training to meet the needs of particular employers or groups of employers that have workers that require similar occupational skills training. The training provided to incumbent workers is developed with an employer or employer association.

d. Registered Apprenticeship Programs, Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship

Programs, and Pre-Apprenticeship Programs Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAP): RAPs (29 CFR Part 29, Subpart A, and 29 CFR Part 30) combine an educational or instructional component with a paid work-based learning component. RAPs are registered through the DOL’s Office of Apprenticeship or a DOL-recognized State Apprenticeship Agency. Registered apprentices are paid employees and receive progressive wage increases commensurate with their skill attainment throughout the training program. Registered apprentices have a 1:1 ratio with a mentor throughout their on-the-job learning. Upon successful completion of all phases of work-based learning and related-instruction components, registered apprentices receive nationally recognized certificates of completion leading to long-term career opportunities.

For more information on RAPs, please visit www.apprenticeship.gov.

Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAP): IRAPs (29 CFR Part 29, Subpart B) are high-quality apprenticeship programs that provide individuals with opportunities to obtain workplace relevant knowledge and progressively advancing skills.

IRAPs are recognized through a Standards Recognition Entity. IRAPs include a paid work component and an educational or instructional component, and result in industry-recognized postsecondary credentials. IRAPs are developed or delivered by entities such as trade and industry groups, corporations, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, unions, and joint labor-management organizations.8

Pre-apprenticeship Programs: A pre-apprenticeship program is defined as a set of strategies designed to prepare individuals for entry into an apprenticeship.9 Pre-apprenticeship programs differ from internships, job shadowing, externships, and co-ops that also offer individuals an opportunity to experience firsthand a profession or practice, but do not always engage in “real world” experiential learning. For the purposes of this FOA, pre-apprenticeship programs funded through this grant are allowable only when

8 For more information on IRAPs, please visit https://www.apprenticeship.gov/industry-recognized-apprenticeship-program.

9 Describing a Quality Pre-Apprenticeship and Related Tools and Resources, Training and Employment Notice No.

13-12, available at https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEN/TEN_13-12.pdf.

https://www.apprenticeship.gov/industry-recognized-apprenticeship-program https://www.apprenticeship.gov/industry-recognized-apprenticeship-program https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEN/TEN_13-12.pdf participants advance in the apprenticeship program(s) during the grant period as proposed in the application.

e. Other Work-Based Learning Activities: Paid Work Experience and Paid Internships

Paid work experience is defined as a planned and structured learning experience that takes place in a workplace for a limited period. For the purposes of this FOA, work experiences are required to be paid work experiences. The specific requirements of these paid work experience are detailed in Section IV.E. Funding Restrictions. Incumbent workers are not eligible to participate in paid work experience.

Paid internships provide a monitored or supervised work or service experience in an individual’s career field where he or she has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what is learned throughout the experience. These learning goals can include academic learning, career development, and skill development. Internships are considered part of a structured program where the grantee establishes the criteria for determining who will participate in these programs, and are set for a period of time that is generally limited in duration, but may be flexible to allow interns to spend limited time in the classroom.

Internships support the attainment of credentials in the individual’s expected career field (where such credentials exist), relate to training provided through the grant, and help participants prepare for employment opportunities on which the grant focuses. Internships do not necessarily carry an offer of regular employment upon successful completion of the internship.

For the purposes of this FOA, internships are required to be paid internships. Under this FOA, paid internships have specific requirements, which are detailed in Section IV.E.

Funding Restrictions. Incumbent workers are not eligible to participate in paid internships.

f. Classroom, Competency-Based and Online Training Strategies In addition to the types of work-based training previously listed, a variety of other types of training strategies may include, but are not limited to, classroom occupational training;

distance learning; technology-based learning; or simulation training. All these strategies can be combined to accelerate the time to credential or program completion. Accelerated and competency-based training strategies can rapidly train participants efficiently and effectively for employment. They can include competency-based programs that give participants credit for skills they have already developed, and allow participants to move through coursework based on mastery of skills or online programs that prepare individuals for jobs in middle- to high-skilled jobs in H-1B industries and occupations.

g. Other Activities A wide range of activities may assist applicants in their efforts to establish new training models, expand existing programs, and offer employment and training services.

Accordingly, applicants may propose to use grant funds to undertake additional activities designed to create an environment for employment and training opportunities, including, but not limited to, those listed in this section.

The Department wishes to ensure that individuals, employers, educators and training providers have access to the most complete, current and beneficial information about providers, programs credentials and competencies supported with these public, federal funds. To this end, the Department requires that information about all credentials (including but not limited to diplomas, badges, certificates, certifications, apprenticeships, licenses, and degrees of all levels and types) and competencies (knowledge, skills and abilities) developed or delivered through the use of these public federal funds be made publicly accessible through the use of linked open data formats that support full transparency and interoperability, such as through the use of credential transparency description language specifications. ETA will provide specific guidance and technical assistance on data elements to include in the published open data, such as information about the credential provider, the credential and its associated competencies, delivery mode, geographic coverage, the industry sector(s) and occupation(s) for which the credential was developed, related assessments, related accreditations or other quality assurances where appropriate, costs, and available outcomes.

3. Supportive Service Strategies Up to 10 percent of grant funds may be used to provide supportive services for training participants. Supportive services are those necessary to enable an individual to participate in education and training activities funded through this grant program. Examples of such services include, but are not limited to transportation, childcare, dependent care, housing, and needs-related payments. Grantees may fund supportive services through various means, including providing the actual supportive service (e.g., childcare), providing participants with a voucher for the service (e.g., public transportation cards or tokens), or providing a stipend directly to the participant. ETA strongly encourages grantees to leverage other programs in the One Workforce community for supportive services when a participant is eligible for human services or other programs, reserving grant funds for those participants that need support but are not eligible for other assistance. See Section IV.E.4. Use of Funds for Supportive Services.

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. AWARD TYPE AND AMOUNT

Funding will be provided in the form of a grant. The Department expects availability of up to $150 million to fund approximately 15 to 30 grants ranging from $500,000 to $10 million each.

Applicants may apply for a ceiling amount of up to $10 million. Applicants should request funding that is commensurate with the scope and scale of the project proposed. Awards made under this Announcement are subject to the availability of federal funds. If additional funds become available, the Department may use such funds to select additional grantees from applications submitted in response to this Announcement.

Applicants must identify in the project narrative the number of participants to be served through the project, in alignment with this FOA and based on the geographic scope of the project and the amount of funds requested. Applicants must also identify in the project narrative the number of participants to receive positive outcomes through the project, in alignment with this FOA and based on the geographic scope of the project and the amount of funds requested. See Section IV.B.3.b. Expected Outcomes and Outputs for additional details.

B. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance is 48 months. This performance period includes all necessary implementation and start-up activities.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

In keeping with the authority provided by Congress under ACWIA, grants under this program will be awarded to partnerships of private and public sector entities. Grants will be awarded to the lead applicant of the H-1B One Workforce Partnership, and the lead applicant will serve as the grantee and have overall fiscal and administrative responsibility for the grant. Eligible lead applicants must: (1) meet the definition of one of the four types of eligible lead applicants described below, and (2) establish a partnership that includes the three types of entities described as required partners below to form the H-1B One Workforce Partnership. While a lead entity may represent one of the required partners, an entity cannot serve as more than one type of required partner in the H-1B One Workforce Partnership for the purpose of meeting FOA requirements.

1. Eligible Lead Applicants

For the purposes of this FOA, the following four types of entities qualify as eligible lead applicants:

• Businesses, business-related nonprofit organizations, such as industry and trade associations, and organizations functioning as a workforce intermediary for the express purpose of serving the needs of an industry;

• Education and training providers, including community colleges, other community-based organizations, and for-profit educational and training institutions;

• Entities involved in administering the public workforce system established under WIOA;

and

• Economic development agencies.

Detailed eligibility requirements for each type of entity are provided below:

i. Businesses and business-related nonprofits organizations These include industry or trade associations such as local Chambers of Commerce, Manufacturing Extension Partnerships, Technology Associations, small business federations, and labor-management organizations. An industry/trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association, or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operates in a specific industry. A range of organizations can serve in the workforce intermediary role, including any of the following: Workforce Development Boards, community colleges, labor-management organizations, industry associations, community-based organizations, non-profit workforce agencies, and state and local government agencies.

Organizations functioning as workforce intermediaries for the express purpose of serving the needs of an industry lend their expertise by having: (1) credibility with employers and workers in the H-1B occupations and industries targeted through the project; (2) access to and experience with the targeted population(s); and (3) capacity to manage a multi-partner and complex initiative bringing together project partners to plan, govern, manage, and track performance of customized services to program participants and employers.

ii. Education and Training Providers For the purposes of this FOA, training providers include institutions of higher education as defined in Section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001), including community and technical colleges and systems; joint labor-management training partnerships; nonprofit, community-based, and faith-based organizations that offer job training, including those organizations that have been approved as WIOA Eligible Training Providers; and for-profit educational institutions.

Generally, institutions of higher education include two-year and four-year colleges and universities, and Minority-Serving Institutions (including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Hispanic Serving Institutions, and/or Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions, such as those designated by the U.S. Department of Education at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/edlite-minorityinst.html), among others.

While not a requirement under this FOA, we encourage the inclusion of education and training providers that have been approved as a WIOA Eligible Training Provider and/or intend to apply for approval as a WIOA Eligible Training Provider. Education and training providers provide offer a range of in-demand, customizable and short-term training, competency-based training, as well as longer-term training programs that result in recognized postsecondary credentials, such as associate degrees and certificates and may include basic skills training, technical skills training, supportive services, and workforce development services.

iii. Workforce Development Entities

For this FOA, the publicly-funded Workforce Development System entities are State Workforce Agencies, and state and local Workforce Development Boards that administer WIOA funds. These organizations have expertise in workforce development and may provide leadership in implementing the following types of activities: (1) understanding and analyzing the need for education and training in the local area, including identifying targeted industries, occupations, sector strategies, hiring needs, and populations to be served, and providing relevant sources of data, including labor market information and other tools or reports; (2) assessing potential participants for the grant program; (3) identifying and referring candidates for education and training in the grant program; (4) providing additional supportive services; (5) connecting and placing participants with employers that have job openings; and (6) collecting, tracking, and reporting participant data to ETA.

iv. Economic Development Agencies State, regional, and/or local economic development agencies work closely with employers, understand regional economic needs, and are involved in activities that help to generate and retain existing jobs, and stimulate industrial and commercial growth. The role of economic development agencies is to seek out new economic opportunities and retain their existing employer community.