1. In appointing members of the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board, the Governor shall ensure that the membership as a whole represents:

(a) Industry sectors which are essential to this State and which are driven primarily by demand;

(b) Communities and areas of economic development which are essential to this State; and

(c) The diversity of the workforce of this State, including, without limitation, geographic diversity and the diversity within regions of this State.

2. The Governor’s Workforce Investment Board shall:

(a) Identify:

(1) Industry sectors which are essential to this State; and

(2) The region or regions of this State where the majority of the operations of each of those industry sectors is conducted.

(b) Establish:

(1) Regional goals for economic development for each of the industry sectors identified pursuant to paragraph (a); and

(2) A council for each industry sector.

(c) Consider and develop programs to promote:

(1) Strategies to improve labor markets for industries and regions of this State, including, without limitation, improving the availability of relevant information;

(2) Coordination of the efforts of relevant public and private agencies and organizations;

(3) Strategies for providing funding as needed by various industry sectors;

(4) Increased production capacities for various industry sectors;

(5) The development of useful measurements of performance and outcomes in various industry sectors;

(6) Participation by and assistance from state and local government agencies;

(7) Expanded market penetration, including, without limitation, by providing assistance to employers with small numbers of employees;

(8) Partnerships between labor and management;

(9) Business associations;

(10) The development of improved instructional and educational resources for employers and employees; and

(11) The development of improved economies of scale, as applicable, in industry sectors.

3. Each industry sector council established pursuant to subparagraph (2) of paragraph (b) of subsection 2:

(a) Must be composed of representatives from:

(1) Employers within that industry;

(2) Organized labor within that industry;

(3) Universities and community colleges; and

(4) Any other relevant group of persons deemed to be appropriate by the Board.

(b) Shall, within the parameters set forth in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or the parameters of any other program for which the federal funding is available, identify job training and education programs which the industry sector council determines to have the greatest likelihood of meeting the regional goals for economic development established for that industry sector pursuant to subparagraph (1) of paragraph (b) of subsection 2.

4. The Board shall:

(a) Identify and apply for federal funding available for the job training and education programs identified pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 3;

(b) Consider and approve or disapprove applications for money;

(c) Provide and administer grants of money to industry sector councils for the purpose of establishing job training and education programs in industry sectors for which regional goals for economic development have been established pursuant to subparagraph (1) of paragraph (b) of subsection 2; and

(d) Adopt regulations establishing:

(1) Guidelines for the submission and review of applications to receive grants of money from the Department; and

(2) Criteria and standards for the eligibility for and use of any grants made pursuant to paragraph (c).

Except as otherwise required as a condition for federal funding, the regulations required by this subsection must give priority to job training and education programs that are consistent with the State Plan for Economic Development developed by the Executive Director of the Office of Economic Development pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 231.053.

5. The Board shall:

(a) Receive reports from the Director pursuant to paragraph (e) of subsection 1 of NRS 232.920;

(b) Require all applicable agencies which provide workforce development services to coordinate efforts and resources to reduce the rate of unemployment for a demographic group contained in the report provided pursuant to paragraph (e) of subsection 1 of NRS 232.920 if, for that demographic group, the rate of unemployment for the group:

(1) Is 200 percent or more of the rate of unemployment for the applicable county as a whole;

(2) Is 4 or more percentage points higher than the rate of unemployment for the applicable county as a whole; or

(3) Has been higher than the rate of unemployment for the applicable county as a whole for 3 or more consecutive years; and

(c) Provide a written report each year to the Director of the Department and the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau describing the efforts made by the Board and all applicable agencies to comply with paragraph (b).

6. In carrying out its powers and duties pursuant to this section, the Board shall consult with the Executive Director of the Office of Economic Development and shall cooperate with the Executive Director in implementing the State Plan for Economic Development developed by the Executive Director pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 231.053.

7. As used in this section, “industry sector” means a group of employers closely linked by common products or services, workforce needs, similar technologies, supply chains or other economic links.

(Added to NRS by 2009, 2277; A 2011, 3449; 2017, 2866)