Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 96 Part 1.djvu/1424

 96 STAT. 1382

PUBLIC LAW 97-300—OCT. 13, 1982

employment and training problems. The program under this section may include studies concerning the development or improvement of Federal, State, local, and privately supported employment and training programs; labor market processes and outcomes; policies and programs to reduce unemployment and the relationships thereof with price stability and other national goals; productivity of labor; improved means of forecasting and using forecasts of labor supply and demand at the national and subnational levels; methods of improving the wages and emplo3ment opportunities of low-skilled and disadvantaged workers; measuring and developing policies to eliminate worker shortages; and easing the transition from school to work, from transfer payment receipt to self-sufficiency, from one job to another, and from work to retirement. (b) The Secretary shall establish a program of experimental, developmental, and demonstration projects, through grants or contracts, for the purpose of improving techniques and demonstrating the effectiveness of specialized methods in meeting employment and training problems. Research activities may include studies, experiments, demonstrations, and pilot projects in such areas as easing the transition from school to work, assessing the changing demographics of the American work-force and addressing the short-term and longterm impact of the changes, increasing employment of skilled workers critical to defense readiness, and, subject to the last sentence of this subsection, projects developed in conjunction with the Secretary of Defense to meet civilian manpower needs on military installations and in the private sector, and eliminating artificial barriers to employment. The Secretary may pay not to exceed 60 percent of the costs of projects developed in conjunction with the Secretary of Defense described in the preceding sentence, and the contributions of the Department of Defense may be in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, or services. PILOT PROJECTS

29 USC 1733.

Applications.

SEC. 453. (a) From funds made available under this part, the Secretary may provide financial assistance for pilot projects which meet the employment-related needs of persons including the handicapped and displaced homemakers who face particular disadvantages in specific and general labor markets or occupations and other persons whom the Secretary determines require special assistance, and projects designed to address skill shortages that affect other critical national objectives, including national security. (b) Each pilot project assisted under this section shall be designed to assist in eliminating artificial and other employment barriers faced by such persons. (c) No project under this section shall be financially assisted for more than three years under this Act. (d) In Selecting recipients under this section, the Secretary shall give special consideration to applications submitted by communitybased organizations of demonstrated effectiveness, as well as to labor unions, and trade associations and their affiliates that address nationwide concerns through programs operating in more than one State.

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