Bill Expands Job Training Funds: Youth Ages 16-21 Could Access Individual Training Accounts

This bill, the "Building Youth Workforce Skills Act," tweaks the rules for how local areas can spend federal job training money. Specifically, it amends the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to let local workforce boards use funds for Individual Training Accounts (ITAs) for young people aged 16 to 21, whether they're still in school or not.

New Training Vouchers for Young People

Think of an ITA like a voucher or scholarship specifically for job training. Right now, these are typically used for adults looking to switch careers or upskill. This bill says, "Let's give younger folks access to this tool, too." It allows local workforce areas, the entities managing these funds, to offer ITAs to teenagers and young adults (16-21). This means a 17-year-old high school senior interested in IT support or a 20-year-old who left school and wants welding certification could potentially get an ITA to pay an approved training provider for those specific skills.

Aligning Youth and Adult Systems

The core change here is aligning the youth system more closely with the existing adult system under WIOA Section 134. By allowing ITAs for youth, the bill gives them more direct purchasing power and choice when selecting from a list of eligible training programs. Instead of being limited to specific youth-designated programs, young people could potentially tap into the broader network of training providers already vetted to serve adults. This could open up more diverse and potentially higher-skill training opportunities earlier in their careers, funded through the same mechanism used for older workers.