1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to employment; appropriating money for grants 
  1.3             to encourage women to enter nontraditional careers; 
  1.4             establishing requirements for grant recipients; 
  1.5             requiring state-funded employment and training 
  1.6             programs to provide certain information. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [APPROPRIATION; GRANT ELIGIBILITY.] 
  1.9      $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  1.10  commissioner of economic security for grants to organizations 
  1.11  for programs that encourage and assist women to enter 
  1.12  nontraditional careers in the trades and in manual and technical 
  1.13  occupations.  The appropriation is available until June 30, 1999.
  1.14     To be eligible for a grant under this section, a program 
  1.15  must include: 
  1.16     (1) outreach to girls and women through public and private 
  1.17  junior high and high schools, appropriate community 
  1.18  organizations, or existing state and county employment and 
  1.19  training programs.  The outreach will consist of general 
  1.20  information concerning opportunities for women in the trades, 
  1.21  manual, and technical occupations, including specific fields 
  1.22  where worker shortages exist; and specific information about 
  1.23  training programs offered.  The outreach may include printed or 
  1.24  recorded information, presentations to women and girls, and 
  1.25  ongoing contact with appropriate staff; 
  1.26     (2) training designed to prepare women to succeed in 
  2.1   nontraditional occupations, conducted by the grantee or in 
  2.2   collaboration with another institution.  The training shall 
  2.3   cover the knowledge and skills required for the trade, 
  2.4   information about on-the-job realities for women in the 
  2.5   particular trade, opportunities for developing workplace problem 
  2.6   solving skills, and information about the current and projected 
  2.7   future job market and likely career paths; 
  2.8      (3) financial assistance with child care and transportation 
  2.9   during training, job search, and the first two months of 
  2.10  employment for low-income women who do not have other coverage 
  2.11  for these expenses; 
  2.12     (4) job placement assistance during and for at least two 
  2.13  years after completion of the training program; and 
  2.14     (5) job retention support.  This may take the form of 
  2.15  mentorship programs, support groups, or ongoing staff contact 
  2.16  for at least the first year of placement in a job after 
  2.17  completion of training, and should include access to job-related 
  2.18  information, assistance with workplace issues resolution, and 
  2.19  access to advocacy. 
  2.20     Programs must be financially and geographically accessible 
  2.21  to MFIP-S participants and other low-income women. 
  2.22     All state-funded employment and training programs must 
  2.23  include information about opportunities for women in 
  2.24  nontraditional careers in the trades, manual, and technical 
  2.25  occupations. 
  2.26     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.27     Section 1 is effective July 1, 1998.