# Building Youth Workforce Skills Act

This bill makes a change to how the government funds job training for young people. Right now, there's a federal program called the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act that helps pay for training so people can learn new skills and find better jobs. The bill expands who can use a specific type of funding called "individual training accounts" to pay for that training.

Currently, individual training accounts—which are basically government-funded vouchers that pay for training classes—are available to adults and people who've lost their jobs. This bill would let young people use these same accounts too. Specifically, it would allow high school students ages 16 to 21 who are still in school, as well as any young person who's dropped out of school, to use these accounts to pay for job training courses. The training could cover things like learning a trade, getting certified in a specific skill, or preparing for a particular career field.

The practical effect is that more young people would have access to government money to pay for job training without having to pay out of pocket. Instead of a young person or their family covering the cost of a training program, the government would cover it through these accounts. This could help teenagers and young adults get skills training while they're still young, potentially leading to better job prospects and higher earnings down the road. Local workforce areas would have the flexibility to use their allocated funds this way, so the availability and types of training offered could vary depending on where you live.