# What This Bill Does

This bill makes changes to federal workforce development programs to include more support for people interested in starting their own businesses. Right now, the government's job training programs focus mainly on helping people find jobs working for employers. This bill expands those programs to also help people develop entrepreneurial skills and start small businesses.

The changes are fairly straightforward. First, the bill officially adds entrepreneurs and small business owners to the list of people that state workforce boards should serve. It also makes sure that organizations teaching entrepreneurial skills can be recognized as official training providers under federal programs, just like traditional job training organizations. Local workforce programs would now be required to provide information about entrepreneurship opportunities and refer people to microenterprise services (programs that help very small businesses get started) when appropriate.

The main action in this bill is authorizing a three-year study to figure out what actually works in entrepreneurship training programs. The study would examine what makes these programs successful, how they should measure whether participants are actually learning, whether graduates earn more money three years after completing the program, and how these programs affect job creation in their communities. The study would also look at what qualifications the people teaching these programs should have and how to get businesses involved in mentoring new entrepreneurs.

For most people, this bill won't have an immediate impact, but it could matter if you're interested in starting a business and live in an area with federal workforce development programs. It signals that the government wants to make entrepreneurship training more available through existing job training systems, and the study results could help shape how these programs develop in the future.

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to authorize a study to review specific outcomes of entrepreneurial skills development programs, and for other purposes.