	Background

In recent years, Congress passed legislation that modified the visa program for foreign workers who enter the country with H-1B visas to work in specialty occupations. The American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (P.L. To fund these programs, it assessed a $500 fee on employers for each person for whom they submitted an application for an H-1B visa. The remaining 23 percent of the funds is to be used for other activities. WIA seeks to create a workforce investment system that connects employment, education, and training services to better match workers to labor market needs. Skill Grants Offer Training with Flexible Service Delivery While Scholarship Grants Offer Education through Degree Programs

Skill grantees use the grant program to offer training through a variety of service delivery options to people whose skills need to be upgraded; scholarship grantees use the scholarship program to offer traditional degree programs in mathematics, computer science, and engineering to low-income students. Skill Grant and Scholarship Grants Designed to Meet Workforce Needs, Though the Skill Levels for Which They Train Varies

The skill grant training is based on local workforce needs and addresses occupations both below and at the bachelor’s degree level required for H-1B visas, whereas the scholarship program’s training is on the basis of national workforce needs and the jobs that many H-1B visa holders fill. National Efforts Not Coordinated to Strategically Address High-Skill Needs, but Local Coordination Shows Promise

While federal programs and initiatives are not coordinated to strategically address the national need for high-skill workers, local skill grant programs are more coordinated, though Labor has provided limited assistance to enhance these local efforts. Agency Comments

The Department of Labor, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Commerce commented on a draft of this report (see apps. Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics Scholarships– grants to postsecondary schools that distribute the funds as scholarships for academically talented, low-income students in computer science, computer technology, engineering, engineering technology, or mathematics.
What GAO Found

In recent years, U.S. employers have complained of shortages of workers with higher-level skills in information technology, the sciences, and other fields. To find workers with these skills, employers often turn to foreign workers who enter the United States with H-1B visas to work in specialty occupations. Despite the recent economic downturn, employers report that they continue to need higher-skilled workers. Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to create a system connecting employment, education, and training services to better match workers to labor market needs. In 1998, Congress passed legislation raising limits on the number of high-skilled workers entering the United States and imposing a $500 fee on employers--which was later raised to $1000--for each foreign worker for whom they applied. Most of the money collected is to be spent on training that improves the skill of U.S. workers. The National Science Foundation (NSF) receives 22 percent of the funds to distribute as scholarship grants to post-secondary schools that distribute the funds as scholarships for low-income students in computer science, engineering, and mathematics degree programs. The grantees operating skill grant programs use the flexibility allowed by the Department of Labor to administer training through a variety of service delivery options to individuals whose skills need to be upgraded, whereas NSF's scholarship grant programs provide scholarships to low-income students for college degree programs. The training offered by the skill grant programs is based on local workforce needs, although sometimes for lower-skill jobs than those filled by H-1B visa holders, and the scholarship program's training is based on national workforce needs and the types of jobs that many H-1B visa holders fill. Although federal initiatives are not coordinated to strategically address high-skill needs at a national level, local skill grant programs increased coordination, though Labor provided limited assistance to enhance these efforts.