Section 6250.1303 - Grant program(a) Establishment.--The department shall establish and administer a grant program to provide funding to industry partnerships from funds appropriated by the General Assembly for the purposes of this act.(b) Use of grant funding.--Industry partnerships shall, to the extent funds are available, use a grant awarded under this section to do any of the following: (1) Organize businesses, employers, workers, labor organizations and industry associations into a collaborative structure that supports the sharing of information, ideas and challenges common to their industry cluster.(2) Identify the training needs of multiple businesses, including skill gaps critical to competitiveness and innovation to their industry cluster.(3) Facilitate economies of scale by aggregating training and education needs of multiple employers.(4) Assist educational and training institutions in aligning curricula and programs to industry demand, particularly for high-priority occupations.(5) Collaborate with the PA CareerLink, youth councils, business-education partnerships, intermediate units, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions, parents, career counselors and career and technical educators for the purpose of addressing the challenges of connecting disadvantaged adults and youth to careers.(6) Assist companies in identifying and working together to address common organizational and human resource challenges, including recruiting new workers, retaining incumbent workers, implementing a high-performance work organization, adopting new technologies and fostering experiential and contextualized on-the-job learning.(7) Assist in developing and strengthening career ladders within and across companies, enabling entry-level workers to improve skills and advance to higher-wage jobs.(8) Assist partner companies in industry partnerships in attracting a diverse workforce, including individuals with barriers to employment. This shall include the economically disadvantaged, youth, older workers, ex-offenders and the physically and developmentally disabled.(9) Assist in strengthening connections among businesses in industry clusters, leading to cooperation, beyond workforce issues, which would improve competitiveness and job quality, including joint purchasing, market research or centers for technology and innovation. 2001, Dec. 18, P.L. 949, No. 114, § 1303, added 2011, July 7, P.L. 289, No. 67, § 2, imd. effective.