S.Amdt. 3548

SA 3548, submitted by Mr. Reed, aims to align the Job Corps program with the defense industrial base to address shortages of skilled industrial workers. It proposes adding new sections and amending existing laws to better integrate military recruitment and industrial training.

Key Changes and Additions:

• Defense Industrial Base Alignment: The amendment requires the National Imperative for Industrial Skills program to expand the use of Job Corps centers to train skilled workers. It allows the Secretary of Defense to support changing the trades offered at centers, including through new sites or hubs near shipyards and defense suppliers.

• Military Recruitment and Enrollment:

  • Military recruiters must inform recruits who are ineligible to enlist under section 520 of title 10 about Job Corps opportunities.
  • It streamlines enrollment and provides background check exemptions for certain veterans, members of the Armed Forces eligible for pre-separation counseling, and specific military recruits.

• Financial and Operational Reforms:

  • It extends the shipbuilding special incentive to the Job Corps program and center operators.
  • It allows Job Corps centers and operators to accept grants and charitable donations.
  • It gives center operators local authority to hire staff, provide professional development, and enter agreements with partners like schools and employers without prior approval from the Secretary.

• Success Metrics: It adds "enlisted in the military with a score on the Armed Forces Qualification Test that is above the thirty-first percentile" as a measure of success for Job Corps graduates.