ACCESS Act
The ACCESS Act (Access to Career Counseling for Every Secondary Student Act) would amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to place greater emphasis on informing students and job seekers about skilled trades and related programs. Specifically, it requires state-level activities to carry out public awareness campaigns and public service announcements (including social media) about career and technical education and programs that prepare youth for high-skill, high-wage, in-demand occupations, including skilled trades. It also strengthens local efforts to provide labor market information and career counseling focused on these sectors, expanding services such as career awareness, counseling, and exploration. The aim is to raise visibility of skilled trades and ensure access to relevant information for youth and workers. In short, the bill would broaden and formalize efforts within the WIOA framework to publicize skilled trades and provide targeted counseling and information to help current and future workers pursue these pathways.
Key Points
- 1Creates a new statewide requirement for public awareness campaigns and public service announcements about career and technical education programs and community-based programs that prepare youth for high-skill, high-wage, in-demand sectors, including skilled trades (as a new subparagraph under WIOA Section 129(b)(2)).
- 2Adds a focus on public-facing communication, including social media and other media, to promote skilled trades and related programs at the state level.
- 3Expands local workforce system activities to include labor market information about high-skill, high-wage, in-demand sectors (including skilled trades) as part of career awareness, counseling, and exploration services (under WIOA Section 129(c)(2)(M)).
- 4Emphasizes services that help eligible youth and others understand and access opportunities in high-demand occupations, particularly skilled trades.
- 5Uses the standard WIOA framework (statewide activities and local elements) but with a strengthened emphasis on career counseling and public awareness for skilled trades.