New Bill Gives 16-to-21-Year-Olds Adult-Style Job Training Funds for Skills Development

The Building Youth Workforce Skills Act is short, but it makes a pretty important change to how young people can access job training funds. Essentially, it tells local workforce development agencies that they can now use existing youth program money (specifically, funds under Section 129(c) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, or WIOA) to pay for training services through an “individual training account.”

If that sounds like bureaucratic jargon, here’s the translation: It means that young people—both those in high school (ages 16 to 21) and those who have left school—can now access job training in the exact same way that unemployed adults or dislocated workers do. Instead of relying solely on group programs or specific grants, the money can follow the individual into specific, approved training programs.

Putting the Funds in Their Hands

Right now, WIOA funds for youth often cover things like tutoring, career counseling, or work experience programs. This new provision, found in Section 2, expands the toolkit by letting local areas use the funds to cover the actual cost of training for a specific skill, paid directly to an eligible provider. Think of it like a voucher system for skills training.

For example, if you’re a 19-year-old who dropped out of school but wants to get certified in welding or as a pharmacy technician, this bill makes it easier for the local workforce board to pay for that certificate program directly. The funds go into an individual training account, which the young person uses at an approved training facility. This alignment with the adult system is key because it means youth can tap into the same established network of high-quality training providers that adults already use.

The Real-World Impact: Flexibility and Focus

This change is about flexibility and access. For a young person trying to enter the workforce, this means they can skip the line and get straight to the specific skill they need to land a job with a future. It acknowledges that not all young people need the same services; some need tutoring, but others need a forklift certification or coding bootcamp tuition covered.

This move streamlines the process and potentially increases the quality of training available to youth because they are now accessing the same pool of vetted, eligible training providers used by adults. The goal is clear: to give young people the financial resources to pursue career-track skills, whether they are juggling high school classes or trying to find a solid career path after leaving the education system.