21st Century Energy Workforce Development Jobs Initiative Act of 2014

there are, as of the date of enactment of this Act 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;

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 that growth, as noted by the American Petroleum Institute;

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;

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;

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 1/5 and 1/2, respectively, the rates of the total student population;

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 or training applicable to employment in the oil and natural gas industry at rates roughly 1/10 above and 1/3 below, respectively, the rates of the total student population;

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 the 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 the jobs being filled by minorities, by 2030;

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 or managerial level requiring a college degree;

the American Petroleum Institute projects that over 1/2 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;

the National Mining Association reports that the coal mining industry supported a total of 805,680 jobs in 2011, including 204,580 direct jobs, including mine workers (143,520), support activities (7,280), and transportation (53,780);

broad occupational categories of potential job creation in the upstream oil and gas industry include—

potential job creation in the upstream oil and gas industry by selected detailed occupational category include—

the National Petroleum Council estimates that over the decade beginning on the date of enactment of this Act 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 Survey of Business Owners of the Census Bureau 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;

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 6,800,000,000 cubic feet per year in 2011 to 7,800,000,000,000 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;

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;

the Energy Information Administration estimates that coal-fired electricity generation will remain a dominant resource in the total generation portfolio of the United States, representing 34 percent of United States baseload electricity in 2035;

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 $630,000,000,000 annually in 2030, driven by further improvements in the cost-competitiveness of wind and solar technologies and an increase in the roll-out of nonintermittent clean energy sources (including hydropower, geothermal, and biomass) requiring additional investment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education;

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 1/2 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; and

the Energy Information Administration found that since 2005 renewable energy has garnered more than $1,300,000,000,000 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 1/2 of that new capacity and attracting up to $5,900,000,000,000 worth of investment, leading to new employment and investment opportunities.

Institution of higher education— The term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).

Program— The term program means the comprehensive program to improve education and training for energy-related jobs established under section 4.

Secretary— The term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy.

STEM— The term STEM means science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

In general— The Secretary shall establish and carry out a comprehensive program to improve education and training for energy-related jobs to increase the number of skilled minorities and women trained to work in energy-related jobs, including by—

Priority— The Secretary shall make educating and training minorities and other workers for energy-related jobs a national priority under the program.

Direct assistance— In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall provide direct assistance (including grants, technical expertise, mentorships, and partnerships) to community colleges, workforce development organizations, and minority-serving institutions.

Clearinghouse— In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall establish a clearinghouse—

Collaboration— In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall—

Outreach to MSIs— In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall—

Guidelines To develop skills for an energy industry workforce— In carrying out the program, 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 enter—

Enrollment in training and apprenticeship programs— In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall work with 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.