21st Century Energy Workforce Development Jobs Initiative Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to establish a comprehensive program to improve the education and training of workers for energy-related jobs, with emphasis on increasing the number of skilled minorities and women trained to work in such jobs.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4526 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4526
To require the Secretary of Energy to establish and carry out a
comprehensive program to improve education and training for energy-
related jobs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 30, 2014
Mr. Rush (for himself, Mr. Whitfield, and Mr. Johnson of Ohio)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Energy to establish and carry out a
comprehensive program to improve education and training for energy-
related jobs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``21st Century Energy Workforce
Development Jobs Initiative Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) There are, currently and for well into the future,
significant opportunities for African-Americans and Hispanic-
Americans throughout the energy industry at each level of
education and training, but raising the educational achievement
for large segments of the upcoming generation is resource
intensive and will take decades to achieve, although the payoff
of an increased skilled labor pool would be enormous to society
in general and United States industry in particular.
(2) African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans represent an
important talent pool to help meet the demands of the projected
growth in the energy industry, and workforce training and
education in business, finance, science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics will prove vital in achieving this
growth, as noted by the American Petroleum Institute.
(3) Improving minority preparation in science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics related disciplines at the primary
and secondary school levels is crucial to increasing the share
of minority science-based degree attainment in 4-year and 2-
year programs of higher education, as well as for increasing
attainment of vocational certificates.
(4) The rates at which African-Americans and Hispanic-
Americans attain employment in the energy industry is in part
related to the choice of the field of study for college degrees
(4-year or 2-year) and vocational certificates.
(5) Data from the National Center for Education Statistics
suggest that, over the 2001 through 2010 period, African-
American and Hispanic-American students chose and completed 4-
year college degrees applicable to employment in the oil and
natural gas industry at rates one-fifth and one-half,
respectively, the rates of the total student population.
(6) With respect to 2-year associate degrees and
certificates, data from the National Center for Education
Statistics suggest that over the same time period, African-
American and Hispanic-American students chose and completed
programs of study/training applicable to employment in the oil
and natural gas industry at rates roughly one-tenth above and
one-third below, respectively, the rates of the total student
population.
(7) The American Petroleum Institute projects 525,000 new
job opportunities in the oil and natural gas industry by 2020,
with 166,000, or 31 percent of such jobs, expected to be held
by African-American and Hispanic-American workers, and, with
forward looking policies, that number could increase to a
projected 811,000 new job opportunities, with more than
285,000, or 35 percent, of such jobs being filled by
minorities, by 2030.
(8) The American Petroleum Institute projects that more
than 50 percent of all jobs created in the oil and natural gas
industry by 2020 would be high-paying skilled and semiskilled
blue collar jobs, with a significant range of opportunities at
the scientific/managerial level requiring a college degree.
(9) The American Petroleum Institute projects that over
half of the future potential job growth in the oil and natural
gas industry, approximately 417,000 jobs, is expected in the
Gulf region, with the East region expected to contribute nearly
140,000 job opportunities, the Rockies region nearly 116,000
job opportunities, and the West, Alaska, and Central regions
expected to contribute approximately 138,000 job opportunities
combined.
(10) The National Mining Association reports that the coal
mining industry supported a total of 805,680 jobs in 2011. That
includes 204,580 direct jobs, including mine workers (143,520),
support activities (7,280), and transportation (53,780).
(11) Broad occupational categories of potential job
creation in the upstream oil and gas industry include--
(A) management, business, and financial jobs;
(B) professional and related jobs;
(C) service jobs;
(D) sales and related jobs;
(E) office and administrative support jobs;
(F) skilled blue collar jobs;
(G) semiskilled blue collar jobs; and
(H) unskilled blue collar jobs.
(12) Potential job creation in the upstream oil and gas
industry by selected detailed occupational category include--
(A) derrick, rotary drill, and service unit
operators;
(B) oil and gas roustabouts;
(C) operating engineers and other construction
workers;
(D) equipment operators;
(E) construction laborers;
(F) first-line supervisors/managers of construction
and extraction workers;
(G) heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers;
(H) pump operators and wellhead pumpers;
(I) helpers and other extraction workers;
(J) petroleum engineers; and
(K) secretaries.
(13) The National Petroleum Council estimates that over the
next decade 30,000 miles of new long-distance natural gas
pipelines will be needed to manage the new sources of shale
natural gas supply, while a 2007 Census Bureau's Survey of
Business Owners estimated that a very small percentage of
pipelines were owned by minority-owned and woman-owned firms
compared to the total owned by nonminority males.
(14) In 2013, the Energy Information Administration
estimated that relatively low natural gas prices, maintained by
growing shale natural gas production, will spur increased use
of natural gas in the industrial and electric power sectors by
16 percent, from 6.8 trillion cubic feet per year in 2011 to
7.8 trillion cubic feet per year in 2025, while total
consumption of natural gas in the United States will continue
to grow in the electric power sector from 16 percent of
generation in 2000 to 30 percent in 2040, which will lead to a
significant number of new jobs in the natural gas sector.
(15) The Energy Information Administration estimates
natural gas production in the United States will increase
annually, outpacing domestic consumption and making the United
States a net exporter of natural gas by 2019, while continued
low levels of liquefied natural gas imports, combined with
increased United States exports of domestically sourced
liquefied natural gas, position the United States as a net
exporter of liquefied natural gas by 2016, creating an
abundance of new jobs and investment opportunities.
(16) The Energy Information Administration estimates that
coal-fired electricity generation will remain a dominant
resource in the Nation's total generation portfolio,
representing 34 percent of United States baseload electricity
in 2035.
(17) In 2013, a report by the Bloomberg New Energy Finance
research team estimated that clean energy investment is most
likely to grow by 230 percent to a projected $630 billion
annually in 2030, driven by further improvements in the cost-
competitiveness of wind and solar technologies and an increase
in the roll-out of non-intermittent clean energy sources
including hydropower, geothermal, and biomass, requiring
additional investment in science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics education.
(18) A 2013 report by the Bloomberg New Energy Finance
research team estimated that renewable energy projects
including wind, solar, hydropower, and biomass will account for
70 percent of new power generation capacity between 2012 and
2030, and, by 2030, renewable energy will account for half of
the generation capacity worldwide, up from 28 percent in 2012,
requiring additional investment in supporting infrastructure,
including long distance transmission systems, smart grids,
storage, and demand response.
(19) The Energy Information Administration states that
since 2005 renewable energy has garnered more than $1.3
trillion worth of investment and the Energy Information
Administration estimates that global energy consumption will
increase by 47 percent between 2010 and 2035, with clean energy
providing more than half of that new capacity and attracting up
to $5.9 trillion worth of investment, leading to new employment
and investment opportunities.
SEC. 3. COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM FOR ENERGY-RELATED JOBS FOR THE 21ST
CENTURY.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy (in this Act referred to
as the ``Secretary'') shall establish and carry out a comprehensive
program to improve education and training for energy-related jobs in
order to increase the number of skilled minorities and women trained to
work in energy-related jobs, including by--
(1) encouraging minority and women students to enter into
the energy science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(in this Act referred to as ``STEM'') fields;
(2) ensuring that the Nation's education system is
equipping students with the skills, training, and technical
expertise necessary to fill the employment opportunities vital
to managing and operating the Nation's energy industry; and
(3) providing students and other candidates with the
necessary skills and certifications for skilled, semiskilled,
and highly skilled energy-related jobs.
(b) Priority.--The Secretary shall make educating and training
minorities and other workers for energy-related jobs a national
priority under the program established under subsection (a).
(c) Direct Assistance.--In carrying out the program established
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide direct assistance
(including grants, technical expertise, mentorships, and partnerships)
to community colleges, workforce development organizations, and
minority-serving institutions.
(d) Clearinghouse.--In carrying out the program established under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall establish a clearinghouse to--
(1) maintain and update information and resources on
training and workforce development programs for energy-related
jobs; and
(2) act as a resource, and provide guidance, for schools,
community colleges, universities, workforce development
programs, and industry organizations that would like to develop
and implement energy-related training programs.
(e) Collaboration.--In carrying out the program established under
subsection (a), the Secretary--
(1) shall collaborate with schools, community colleges,
universities, workforce training organizations, national
laboratories, unions, State energy offices, and the energy
industry;
(2) shall encourage and foster collaboration, mentorships,
and partnerships among organizations (including unions,
industry, schools, community colleges, workforce development
organizations, and universities) that currently provide
effective job training programs in the energy field and
institutions (including schools, community colleges, workforce
development programs, and universities) that seek to establish
these types of programs in order to share best practices and
approaches that best suit local, State, and national needs; and
(3) shall collaborate with the Energy Information
Administration and the Bureau of the Census to develop a
comprehensive and detailed understanding of the energy
workforce needs and opportunities by State and by region.
(f) Guidelines for Educational Institutions.--
(1) In general.--In carrying out the program established
under subsection (a), the Secretary, in collaboration with the
Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Labor, shall
develop guidelines for educational institutions of all levels,
including for elementary and secondary schools and community
colleges and for undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate
university programs, to help provide graduates with the skills
necessary to work in energy-related jobs.
(2) Input.--The Secretary shall solicit input from the oil,
gas, coal, renewable, nuclear, utility, and pipeline industries
in developing guidelines under paragraph (1).
(3) Energy efficiency and conservation initiatives.--The
guidelines developed under paragraph (1) shall include grade-
specific guidelines for teaching energy efficiency and
conservation initiatives to educate students and families.
(4) STEM education.--The guidelines developed under
paragraph (1) shall promote STEM education as it relates to job
opportunities in energy-related fields of study in schools,
community colleges, and universities nationally.
(g) Outreach to MSIs.--In carrying out the program established
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
(1) give special consideration to increasing outreach to
minority serving institutions (including historically black
colleges and universities, predominantly black institutions,
Hispanic serving institutions, and tribal institutions);
(2) make resources available to minority serving
institutions with the objective of increasing the number of
skilled minorities and women trained to go into the energy
sector; and
(3) encourage industry to improve the opportunities for
students of minority serving institutions to participate in
industry internships and cooperative work/study programs.
(h) Guidelines To Develop Skills for an Energy Industry
Workforce.--In carrying out the program established under subsection
(a), the Secretary shall collaborate with representatives from the
energy industry (including the oil, gas, coal, nuclear, utility,
pipeline, renewable, and nuclear sectors) to identify the areas of
highest need in each sector and to develop guidelines for the skills
necessary to develop a workforce trained to go into the following
sectors of the energy industry:
(1) Energy efficiency industry, including work in energy
efficiency, conservation, weatherization, or retrofitting, or
as inspectors or auditors.
(2) Pipeline industry, including work in pipeline
construction and maintenance or work as engineers or technical
advisors.
(3) Utility industry, including as utility workers,
linemen, electricians, pole workers, or repairmen.
(4) Alternative fuels, including work in biofuel
development and production.
(5) Nuclear industry, including work as scientists,
engineers, technicians, mathematicians, or security personnel.
(6) Oil and gas industry, including work as scientists,
engineers, technicians, mathematicians, petrochemical
engineers, or geologists.
(7) Renewable industry, including work in the development
and production of renewable energy sources (such as solar,
hydropower, wind, or geothermal energy).
(8) Coal industry, including work as coal miners,
engineers, developers and manufacturers of state-of-the-art
coal facilities, technology vendors, coal transportation
workers and operators, and mining equipment vendors.
(i) Enrollment in Training and Apprenticeship Programs.--In
carrying out the program established under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall work with organized labor and community-based workforce
organizations to help identify students and other candidates, including
from historically underserved communities such as minorities, women,
and veterans, to enroll into training and apprenticeship programs for
energy-related jobs.
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Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
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