The Iowa Skilled Workforce Act aims to enhance apprenticeship and career training programs by introducing new definitions and provisions, including the terms "intermediary sponsor" and "partner employer." An intermediary sponsor is defined as an entity that provides apprenticeship training to multiple employers, while a partner employer is one that trains employees through an intermediary sponsor. The bill clarifies the responsibilities of apprenticeship sponsors and employers, granting intermediary sponsors the discretion to approve partner employers based on compliance with established standards. Additionally, the Act mandates the workforce development board to create and update a list of high-demand jobs every five years, modifying the criteria for identifying these jobs to a "competitive" wage standard.

The Act also establishes a new Career Training Physical Expansion Program to provide financial assistance for constructing facilities that will enhance the capacity of community colleges and apprenticeship programs in high-demand fields. It encourages school districts to expand pre-apprenticeship and youth apprenticeship opportunities, aligning coursework with registered apprenticeship requirements and establishing work-based learning coordinators. Furthermore, the bill revises financial eligibility criteria for scholarship applicants, shifting from a specific student aid index to a broader financial need assessment, and streamlines reporting requirements for the college student aid commission. It also adjusts qualifications for career and technical secondary authorizations to require 3,000 hours of relevant experience while limiting initial training requirements to ethics training.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 84D.2, 84D.4, 84D.7, 105.18, 84E.2, 84E.4, 84E.3, 8.33, 96.5, 84A.12, 256.228, 256.146