Posts Tagged ‘skills gap’

President Focuses on Education and Skills Training in State of the Union

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

In his State of the Union address last night President Obama called keeping the middle class alive “the defining issue of our time.” Throughout his speech, he set out proposals to foster an economy “built to last” predicated on education, a skilled workforce, high-paying jobs, energy independence and fairness that would help bolster the middle class.

The President highlighted the skills gap that exists in industries such as manufacturing, information technology and clean energy: “Growing industries in science and technology have twice as many openings as we have workers who can do the job.” In an effort to solve this problem, he called for a national commitment to train two million individuals with the skills they need to land a job, with a focus on partnerships between businesses and community colleges. The President is scheduled to release his FY13 budget on February 13. We hope that his commitment to address the skills gap and provide resources for unemployed individuals will be reflected in his proposal for Perkins Act funding.

President Obama also focused on the current job training system, saying that he wants “to cut through the maze of confusing training programs, so that from now on, people…have one program, one website, and one place to go for all the information and help they need.” His hope is that streamlining the system will get people back to work more quickly in the jobs that exist today, and better prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow. While he does not mention the Workforce Investment Act specifically, the program has been due for reauthorization since 2003 and has been top priority for the both the House and the Senate this session. Given the President’s mention of the workforce system, we are hopeful that this signals a desire to reauthorize WIA in the coming year.

The President also touched on other education issues such as high school dropouts, calling on states to require students to stay in school until graduation or until they turn 18. In terms of college access and affordability, the President urged Congress to keep student interest rates low and extend the tuition tax credit. He also asked institutions of higher education to keep costs down and was blunt in his commitment to making postsecondary education more affordable, saying, “If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down.”

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Legislation, Public Policy
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CTE in the News: The Transformation of American Factory Jobs, In One Company

Friday, January 13th, 2012

The evolution of a fuel-injector assembly line in Greenfield, South Carolina exemplifies the transformation of the manufacturing workforce taking place across the nation, according to a recent NPR story. Making it in America, the second piece in a two-part series, highlights the new and old demands of the manufacturing industry, which has moved from largely hiring low-skilled workers on the assembly line to high-skilled and more-educated workers.

The stories of the success and looming threats among Standard Motor Products employees buttresses the argument for Career Technical Education (CTE) programs that align to the economy and raises the rigor and skill attainment for its students.

The 92-year-old manufacturer has moved from hiring a workforce that was illiterate and did not earn their high school diploma to one that is more educated and has high skills to run sophisticated machinery.

“ ’Now it’s all finesse’ could be the motto of American manufacturing today. In factories around the country, manufacturing is becoming a high-tech, high-precision business. And not everyone has the finesse to run [these complicated machines],” the article said.

Closing the skills gap between those who can and cannot succeed in this new business remains the challenge.

By admin in News
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Mike Rowe Promotes Skills Training in New Video

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

Television star and skills training advocate, Mike Rowe, released a new short video to draw attention to the country’s shortage of qualified workers in some vital fields.

While attaining higher education is a positive goal for some, Rowe said there are options for high school graduates who aren’t college-bound. He stated that this focus on “college for all” exacerbates the skills gap and devalues jobs such as welding and plumbing that are critical and rewarding occupations. There are shortages in these areas, Rowe said, because we don’t encourage students to pursue them.

“We’re so focused on getting into the corner office, we forgot how to build a corner office,” he said.

Career Technical Education (CTE) offers students an opportunity to attain knowledge and skills required to succeed in the workforce or further education. Through career pathways, CTE students take rigorous coursework, often including work-based experiences and dual enrollment courses, and acquire valuable skills to help them succeed after high school whether or not they choose to pursue postsecondary education.

View Mike Rowe’s latest video here.

Kara Herbertson, Education Policy Analyst 

By admin in News, Resources
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Leaders Focus on Closing the Skills Gap and Increasing Innovation

Monday, November 14th, 2011

Leaders concerned with America’s growing skills gap met last week in Washington to focus on solutions to this national problem.

The Atlantic, a literary and political magazine, hosted the event to brainstorm how America can regain its competitiveness in the global economy. U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison kicked off the event by stressing the importance of teaching science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields as early as middle school. She also expressed her support for Career Technical Education (CTE) and emphasized the need for technical jobs and training to fulfill the country’s “responsibility to show that some of the best jobs in the world [require] technical degrees.”

A panel featuring higher education, government, and manufacturing experts described their various initiatives aimed at closing this gap.  Jay Timmons, President and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) described current progress as slow, but he also stated that the nation is set to make great strides in the long-term.  From a higher education perspective, Bob Templin, President of Northern Virginia Community College, agreed that a larger number of high school graduates are not ready for postsecondary training. However, he also noted that secondary and postsecondary schools and business and industry are actively teaming together to create solutions.

View the entire event and additional resources here.

Kara Herbertson, Education Policy Analyst

By admin in News
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Legislative Update: Job Training Hearing, Jobs Plans

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

House Holds Job Training Hearing
On Tuesday the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a field hearing entitled, “Examining Local Solutions to Strengthen Federal Job Training Programs” in Las Vegas, Nevada. The hearing focused on the challenges facing the state and local economies, the role of job training services in providing greater career opportunities, and the need to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act. During the hearing, Leroy Walker, Vice President for Human Resources at St. Rose Dominican Hospitals said, “Training needs within healthcare are complex and have resulted in the need for organizations to ensure that staff is trained appropriately. Additionally, the partnering with various educational systems to ensure that their curriculum is in alignment with our needs has become more necessary than ever. As we each find the need for more and more healthcare, we must find a better more efficient way to ensure that staff is appropriately trained and prepared to provide the care we need.”

House Introduces Jobs Plan
Jobs are the top priority of both Congress and the Administration as Congress returns to Washington next week after a month-long recess. House Republicans announced their jobs plan on Monday. Central to this plan will be an effort to eliminate ten “job-destroying” regulations and tax relief for businesses. President Obama is scheduled to announce his own jobs plan next week, but it is unclear whether his package will include tax cuts, tax increases, additional stimulus spending, or some combination of all three.

Bills Introduced:

Local Jobs for America Act
Last week, Rep. George Miller (CA), Ranking Member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee reintroduced H.R. 2828, the Local Jobs for America Act. The bill is similar to the bill he introduced during the last Congress. The bill will provide funds to local communities to hire individuals for public sector jobs. Funding would go directly to eligible local communities and nonprofit community organizations to decide how best to use the funds. The bill would also fund a $23 billion education jobs fund. In addition to public sector jobs, the bill would also fund approximately 50,000 private-sector positions, and would allow workers to obtain on the job training.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Legislation, Public Policy
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Legislative Update: House Hearing on Higher Ed and Jobs

Friday, August 19th, 2011

On Tuesday, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training hosted a field hearing in South Carolina, “Reviving Our Economy: The Role of Higher Education in Job Growth and Development.” The hearing featured two panel discussions: The first examined the local economy and job opportunities, and the second focused on the ability of higher education institutions to successfully prepare graduates to join the workforce.

During the second panel, Dr. Keith Miller, President of Greenville Technical College, spoke about the importance of partnerships between education and employers to ensure economic success. His college is working with employers to bridge the skills gaps that exist industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, and IT. Dr. Miller encouraged members to support WIA funding and talked about the benefit of dual enrollment programs. While he did not speak about Perkins specifically, it is important that the subcommittee heard about the skills gaps that exist and the need to train workers to fill existing jobs. Hearing this message from constituents reinforces the message that we take the Hill with us – that Perkins funding and CTE programs are the key drivers in training these workers and closing the skills gap.

By admin in Public Policy
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Dirty Jobs’ Mike Rowe Testifies Before Senate Committee

Monday, May 16th, 2011

Mike Rowe is best known for touring the country to expose the most dangerous and disgusting, yet vital, jobs that American workers perform daily. On his Discovery Channel television show, Dirty Jobs, Rowe doubles as host and apprentice as he tries to take on the duties of various hands-on positions.

Rowe added “skills training advocate” to his list of jobs last week, as he testified in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

During his testimony, Rowe stated that, “In a hundred different ways, we have slowly marginalized an entire category of critical professions, reshaping our expectations of a ‘good job’ into something that no longer looks like work.” He emphasized that the skills gap is widening and will only grow without increased training for workers. As droves of older workers retire, fewer skilled workers are prepared to fill the vacancies left behind.

Rowe’s testimony coincided with the release of a new multimedia initiative developed by Rowe and Discovery Communications. Discover Your Skills will help address the skills gap by providing employment and job skills resources for unemployed and underemployed individuals.

Click here to view the Senate hearing.

By admin in News
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New Report Says Expand and Promote CTE

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

Career Technical Education (CTE) should be expanded and promoted to address the skills gap and to staff the American workforce, according to a new report.

The HR Policy Association, an organization representing the chief human resource officers of major employers, produced the report to lay out specific changes to ensure the competitiveness of the American workforce and fulfilling careers for job seekers.

The organization’s members recommend the following changes that can be addressed through CTE:

The report states that “Americans are not being educated in sufficient numbers to meet the demands of today’s highly technical work processes and products.” Our country increasingly relies upon ever-changing technology, and workers need skills to develop, repair, and maintain it.

CTE provides a solution. Comprehensive CTE programs prepare students to be college and career ready and to effectively fill vacancies for skilled jobs.

By admin in News, Resources
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