H.R. 2910 — Youth Workforce Readiness Act of 2025

This section states the purposes of the Act, which are to establish or expand activities to (1) increase youth access and opportunities for labor market-relevant education and training; (2) support engagement in and integration of out-of-school-time programs through workforce investment, education, and economic development systems; (3) improve workforce quality and meet employer skill requirements; (4) engage employers to address youth training, skill, and employment needs and foster economic mobility; and (5) include younger youth in education and workforce activities in age- and developmentally appropriate ways.

This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act, including (1) community-based organization (i.e., a youth-serving private nonprofit, which may include faith-based organizations, with demonstrated expertise in workforce development, career pathways, community coordination, and data systems); (2) covered partnership (i.e., between a community-based organization and an industry or sector partnership, local educational agency, or other public or private entity); (3) eligible youth (i.e., as defined in WIOA section 3 but ages 6-18, or 19 if enrolled in secondary school); (4) industry or sector partnership (i.e., as defined in WIOA section 3(26), including potentially Indian tribes, tribal organizations, or community-based organizations); (5) out-of-school-time (i.e., supervised programs for eligible youth before/after school, during summers/holidays, or weekends); (6) Secretary (i.e., Secretary of Labor); (7) specified WIOA terms such as career pathway and local board; and (8) workforce readiness program (i.e., an out-of-school-time program offered by eligible entities to prepare youth for the workforce).

This section establishes a competitive grant program, using amounts made available under section 9, under which the Secretary awards grants to eligible entities to plan, develop, and implement nationwide comprehensive workforce readiness programs that are (1) in out-of-school-time programs, (2) carried out by community-based organizations of the eligible entity or related covered partnerships, and (3) for eligible youth. The Secretary awards grants for periods of not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years.

This section establishes eligibility criteria for entities to receive grants under section 4, requiring that such entities (1) be national youth-serving organizations with active chapters, affiliates, or subgrant recipients that are community-based organizations (including facility-based organizations) in at least 35 states and provide programming focused on youth workforce readiness in out-of-school-time programs, and (2) obtain approval of an application under section 6.

This section establishes application requirements for grants under section 4, requiring applicants to submit to the Secretary, at such time and in such manner as required, an application containing (1) a description of implementation ensuring equitable geographic distribution of youth workforce readiness program activities between urban and rural communities; (2) a description of proposed program activities and locations; (3) a description of eligible youth populations to be served, including those from underserved communities or with employment disparities; (4) a description of effective, best, or evidence-based practices to be used; (5) an assurance of safe and accessible facilities; (6) a demonstration of coordination with Federal, State, and local programs to maximize public resources; (7) a description of community-based organizations or covered partnerships, including collaboration activities; (8) if offering recognized postsecondary credentials, a description of related activities; (9) an assurance that funds will supplement, and not supplant, other Federal, State, or local funds; and (10) a budget for program activities and administrative costs.

This section requires an eligible entity receiving a grant under section 4 to use the funds (1) if implementing the workforce readiness program through a covered partnership, to establish the partnership; and (2) to develop and implement a youth workforce readiness program for eligible youth age 15 and older that includes (A) services such as career pathways; paid and unpaid work experiences (e.g., summer and school-year employment, pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs under the National Apprenticeship Act, internships, job shadowing, on-the-job training); work-based learning (as defined in the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006); occupational skill training prioritizing recognized postsecondary credentials aligned with local in-demand sectors meeting quality criteria under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; customized training; concurrent education and occupational training; and postsecondary transition activities; (B) services such as leadership development, workforce readiness opportunities, supportive services, mentoring for at least 12 months, guidance and counseling (potentially including substance abuse prevention), financial literacy, entrepreneurial skills, labor market information, employability and social-emotional skills development, academic counseling, and industry-provided career exposure; and (C) potentially professional development for educators (as defined in the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006) and employer resources. This section authorizes such entities, with the Secretary's approval, to award subgrants to eligible organizations for these activities.

This section establishes evaluation and reporting requirements for youth workforce readiness programs. It requires eligible entities to (1) base programs on objective community needs assessments; (2) evaluate programs using performance measures aligned with participants' academic needs and tracking youth success (e.g., assessment results, improved attendance and grades, on-time grade advancement, and—for high school students—career competencies, internships, apprenticeships, work-based learning, or graduation); and (3) collect necessary data. The section further directs the Secretary to periodically evaluate grantees' progress toward high-quality opportunities via youth success measures, use results to refine programs and measures and determine grant renewal eligibility under section 4, and submit evaluation reports to congressional committees and the public.

This section establishes a youth council as a required subgroup within each local workforce development board under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). (As background, WIOA local boards oversee workforce development activities, including youth programs for individuals ages 14-24.) Youth council membership must include representatives with expertise in youth workforce development (e.g., local labor organizations, education entities, youth service agencies, parents of eligible youth, and Job Corps), with duties to represent youth interests, collaborate on youth programs, and advise the local board. This section further (1) requires state workforce plans to describe how local boards incorporate youth council recommendations; (2) requires local workforce plans to describe how the local board incorporates youth council recommendations; and (3) requires state and local annual performance reports to include information on activities carried out on youth council recommendations.