MATCH Act of 2026
- Bill Number
- H.R. 8183
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 2
- Policy Area
- Labor and Employment
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2026-04-02: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
- Last Updated
- 2026-05-14T08:08:27Z
AI-Generated Summary
Summary of H.R. 8183: Modernizing Access to Talents, Credentials, and Hiring Act of 2026 (MATCH Act of 2026)
Purpose
The bill amends the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to create digital "talent marketplaces." These are online platforms that connect jobseekers, students, employers, and educators by matching skills, credentials, and experience with job and training opportunities using standardized, user-controlled data.
Key Provisions
- New Definitions (WIOA Section 3):
- Talent marketplace: Publicly available platforms (public or private) using open standards and possibly AI to match users with opportunities; includes access to learning/employment records, a credential registry (public descriptions of skills from credentials), learning and employment records (digital, verifiable histories controlled by individuals), skills profile generator (tool to describe skills for jobs or education), and standardized terminology (consistent terms from public skills frameworks).
- Workforce Data Quality Initiative Grants (new WIOA Section 169(d)):
- U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary awards grants (5-10% of certain funds) to state agencies or consortia for building data systems and talent marketplaces.
- Goals: Improve program quality, data for decisions, performance reporting, user privacy, and labor market transparency.
- Applications must detail activities, outcomes, data security (complying with privacy laws), sustainability, and interoperability.
- Priorities: States new to such grants or multistate groups; focuses on expanding data use, collaborations, and non-federal matching funds.
- Allowed uses: Enhance data systems, replicate successful tools, research, establish marketplaces, privacy policies, staff training.
- Grants last up to 3 years; must supplement (not replace) existing funds; grantees report results.
- Integration into Provider Lists (WIOA Section 122(d)):
- Governors may create or partner on talent marketplaces.
- Made available via consumer-friendly public websites (searchable, comparable data); protects personal info.
- DOL provides technical assistance and shares best practices.
- Wagner-Peyser Act Update (29 U.S.C. 49f):
- Adds establishing talent marketplaces to state employment service functions.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Introduces detailed definitions for talent-related digital tools, absent in current WIOA.
- Creates a dedicated grant program under existing Workforce Data Quality Initiative, mandating fund allocation (previously discretionary).
- Expands eligible training provider lists and one-stop centers to include talent marketplaces.
- Enhances Wagner-Peyser Act to explicitly support these platforms.
Potential Impacts
- Government Agencies: States gain tools and funding for better data infrastructure; DOL oversees grants and assistance, potentially improving federal performance tracking.
- Citizens: Jobseekers and students get easier access to personalized job/training matches, portable skill records, and transparent labor market info.
- Employers/Educators: Simplified hiring and credential verification using standardized skills data.
- No direct international relations impacts.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- State workforce agencies (primary grant recipients).
- Jobseekers, students, workers (users of marketplaces and records).
- Employers and training providers (data contributors and opportunity posters).
- DOL and local workforce boards (oversight, integration).
- Multistate consortia (for interstate data sharing).
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Privacy: Emphasizes user control, data security, and compliance with federal/state privacy laws (e.g., no personally identifiable info shared publicly).
- Interoperability: Promotes open standards to avoid vendor lock-in, enabling nationwide portability.
- Equity: Prioritizes underserved states, potentially reducing data gaps in rural or low-resource areas.
- No apparent constitutional challenges; aligns with congressional authority over workforce policy. Politically, supports skills-based hiring amid labor market shifts, without mandating private sector participation.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (1)
Recent Actions
- 2026-04-02: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
- 2026-04-02: Introduced in House
- 2026-04-02: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- Modernizing Access to Talents, Credentials, and Hiring Act of 2026 — issued 2026-04-02 — PDF (15 pages)