This bill directs the Secretary of Labor to run a competitive grant program to help community colleges and area career and technical education centers create and run immersive technology education and training programs. Grants must be awarded within one year of enactment and can last up to 5 years. Eligible applicants are industry or sector partnerships that include institutions such as community colleges, area career and technical schools, postsecondary vocational institutions, Tribal colleges, or consortia of those schools. "Immersive technology" is defined to include extended reality, virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality. Programs funded must provide career pathways using immersive technology, be accessible to people with disabilities, may train instructors, and can target students, veterans, people with barriers to employment, rural communities, or workers needing retraining. The Secretary must give priority to applicants who work with employers that plan to hire program graduates, include covered community colleges, or show alignment with State or local workforce and Perkins plans and other listed priorities. Grantees must report performance to the Secretary starting two years after the grant and annually afterward; the Secretary must report to Congress biennially. The Department must reserve between 1 and 5 percent of funds for independent evaluation and technical assistance. The Secretary must publish best practices for using immersive technology no later than 30 days after the third year of each grant period. The bill authorizes $50,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2035 to carry out the program.
If you run or work at a community college, career technical school, Tribal college, or a training partnership, this bill would create a chance to apply for federal grants to build or expand VR/AR/MR-based training and career pathway programs. If you are a student, veteran, or someone with barriers to employment, these programs could be designed to be accessible to you and to prepare you for in-demand jobs. Employers can partner with schools to help shape programs and may get priority if they commit to hiring graduates. Rural communities are explicitly eligible for targeted programs.
The bill authorizes $50,000,000 each year for fiscal years 2026 through 2035 to carry out the grant program. The Secretary must reserve not less than 1 percent and not more than 5 percent of each year’s funding for independent evaluation and technical assistance. No other cost estimates or budget effects are provided in the bill text.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.