[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 25, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-12793]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: May 25, 1994]


_______________________________________________________________________

Part VI





Department of Education





_______________________________________________________________________




Cooperative Demonstration Program (Manufacturing Technologies); Final 
Priority and Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal 
Year 1994; Notices
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 
Cooperative Demonstration Program (Manufacturing Technologies)

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of final priority for fiscal year 1994.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Secretary announces an absolute priority for fiscal year 
(FY) 1994, using funds appropriated in FY 1993, under the Cooperative 
Demonstration Program, which is authorized by the Carl D. Perkins 
Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act. Under the absolute 
priority for manufacturing technologies, funds will be reserved for a 
competition only among applications proposing to develop and 
demonstrate a national training model to overcome skill shortages in 
the application of new technologies to the manufacturing process within 
the American machine tool industry.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This priority takes effect either 45 days after 
publication in the Federal Register or later if the Congress takes 
certain adjournments. If you want to know the effective date of this 
priority, call or write the Department of Education contact person.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jackie Friederich, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., room 4526 Switzer Building, 
Washington, DC 20202-7242. Telephone: (202) 205-9071. Individuals who 
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Dual Party Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., 
Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The application of new technologies to the 
manufacturing process is key to the restoration of American 
competitiveness. In a 1989 Memorandum of Understanding, the Department 
of Education, the Department of Labor, the Department of Defense, and 
the Department of Commerce agreed that there was a national need to 
train multi-skilled machine technicians capable of installing, 
integrating, maintaining, diagnosing, repairing, and modifying 
technologically advanced equipment systems. However, high-technology 
manufacturing systems can be implemented only where the skills exist to 
use them at peak efficiency. At present, this type of skill training is 
in short supply and the lack of these skills is a major hindrance to 
increasing industrial automation in the United States.
    In fiscal year 1993, the House Appropriations Committee Report 
indicated that the Department should initiate a demonstration program 
for critical technologies, as authorized by section 215 of the National 
Defense Authorization Act of 1989, which also provided for this type of 
demonstration. (H.R. Rep. No. 708, 102nd Cong., 2nd Sess. 160 (1993)). 
The competition to be conducted under this priority notice is designed 
to address national skill shortages in advanced skills technologies for 
manufacturing within the American machine tool industry.
    The Secretary hopes that this effort will serve to encourage the 
establishment of partnerships between vocational education institutions 
and industry, which, in turn, should serve to bring new ideas and 
concepts from the research laboratory to the manufacturing floor. The 
Secretary recognizes the importance of assisting manufacturing 
enterprises to utilize new manufacturing technologies and to define the 
training and educational components necessary for successful 
implementation of those new technologies. Models developed under this 
competition will enable innovative manufacturing enterprises to become 
more technologically competitive both at home and abroad.
    Additionally, this program can help further the purposes of the 
National Education Goals. Specifically, the manufacturing technologies 
priority announced by this notice directly supports Goal 6, which 
states that by the year 2000, every adult American will be literate and 
will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global 
economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

    Note: This notice of final priority does not solicit 
applications. A notice inviting applications under this competition 
is published in a separate notice in this issue of the Federal 
Register.

Priority

    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) the Secretary gives an absolute 
preference to applications that meet the following priority. The 
Secretary funds under this competition only applications that meet this 
absolute priority:
    Projects that--
    (1) Design, develop, implement, test, evaluate, demonstrate, and 
disseminate a national training model for overcoming national skill 
shortages in the application of new technologies to the manufacturing 
process within the American machine tool industry;
    (2) Focus on critical technologies needed for sustained economic 
growth, industrial productivity, and high-wage jobs within the American 
machine tool industry, either by developing a new model, refining an 
existing model, or using any portion of a model or combination of more 
than one model; and
    (3) Address the problems of high unemployment and training needs 
among young adults and out-of-school youth, particularly minorities and 
women, in high-poverty, low-income major urban areas with major labor 
surpluses.

Project Requirements

    Projects funded under this absolute priority must--
    (a) Design, develop, implement, test, and evaluate a national 
training model that defines the training and educational components 
necessary to train and educate manufacturing technicians in critical 
technologies related to the American machine tool industry;
    (b) Demonstrate the effectiveness of the model developed by the 
project to a variety of businesses, industries, and educational 
providers through demonstration activities that take place either on 
the premises of a postsecondary training institution or on the premises 
of manufacturing companies that are training their workforces in 
advanced technologies. Demonstration activities may be provided either 
directly or via satellite or other electronic linkage;
    (c) Disseminate information nationally, and provide technical 
assistance to manufacturing companies and education and training 
institutions, about the model developed by the project and its 
application to the manufacturing process, as well as the teaching and 
learning methodologies and the curricular modules developed for 
training manufacturing technicians, in order to facilitate the 
application of new technologies to the manufacturing process;
    (d) Involve an education-business partnership consisting of (1) one 
or more postsecondary education or training institutions; and (2) one 
or more companies within the manufacturing industry. Consistent with 
their expertise, all partners must participate in the design, 
development, implementation, evaluation, demonstration, and 
dissemination of the training model for the education and training of 
manufacturing technicians;
    (e) In developing the training model--
    (1) Identify and validate the occupational skill standards and 
related task lists needed for the manufacturing occupations that are 
included in the project, utilizing, to the extent practicable--
    (i) Validated common standards that have been developed by trade 
and professional associations, such as the National Occupational 
Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) and the Vocational-Technical 
Education Consortium of States (V-TECS), or other standards that are 
being utilized in current training programs; and
    (ii) The skill standards that are currently being developed by 
organizations under contract with the Departments of Education and 
Labor; and
    (2) Develop the curriculum, content, resources, and methodology 
necessary to conduct the educational program, including the following 
elements:
    (i) Occupational training in areas of national skill shortages in 
the American machine tool industry, including cross-training in 
integral manufacturing trades.
    (ii) Academic learning integrated with hands-on skill development.
    (iii) Curriculum and instructional processes that integrate 
practical experience and theoretical knowledge and that provide out-of-
school youth and other young adults, particularly minorities and women, 
with the skills needed to make the transition from school to productive 
employment or to further technical training.
    (iv) Advanced manufacturing training and academic learning, within 
a production setting, needed to educate manufacturing technicians at 
advanced world-competitive levels and to provide them with a portable 
skill certificate requiring less than a baccalaureate degree.
    (v) Print and non-print materials (video mail, on-line education 
software and databases, computer-aided instruction, laser discs, etc.) 
that encompass best-of-class knowledge sources and delivery systems and 
enable manufacturers to make comparisons among alternative technologies 
and training practices.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

    In accordance with section 431(b)(2)(A) of the General Education 
Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232(b)(2)(A)) and the Administrative 
Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), it is the practice of the Secretary to 
offer interested parties the opportunity to comment on proposed 
regulations and priorities. However, for the following reasons, the 
Secretary is publishing the absolute priority for manufacturing 
technologies demonstration projects without seeking public comment. In 
FY 1993, the Department awarded a contract for the purpose of carrying 
out a manufacturing technologies demonstration project under the 
cooperative demonstration authority. Similarly, the Department 
initially planned to award a contract for this same purpose in FY 1994. 
However, the Department recently determined that a contract cannot be 
used for funding manufacturing technologies demonstration projects in 
FY 1994. Since the FY 1993 appropriations available for this 
competition must be obligated by September 30, 1994, solicitation of 
public comment on the absolute priority for this FY 1994 manufacturing 
technologies competition would not allow sufficient time to publish the 
priority in final form, announce and conduct the competition, and award 
the funds by September 30, 1994. Therefore, the Secretary finds that 
solicitation of public comments would be impracticable and contrary to 
the public interest under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B).

Intergovernmental Review

    This program is subject to the requirements of Executive Order 
12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. The objective of the 
Executive order is to foster an intergovernmental partnership and a 
strengthened federalism by relying on processes developed by State and 
local governments for coordination and review of proposed Federal 
financial assistance.
    In accordance with the order, this document is intended to provide 
early notification of the Department's specific plans and actions for 
this program.

Applicable Program Regulations

    34 CFR parts 400 and 426.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 2420a.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.199J Cooperative 
Demonstration Program)

    Dated: May 17, 1994.
Augusta Souza Kappner,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Vocational and Adult Education.
[FR Doc. 94-12793 Filed 5-24-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P