Posts Tagged ‘Job training’

House Introduces FY12 Budget Resolution

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (WI) yesterday released The Path to Prosperity, a budget resolution that aims to balance the budget and reduce the federal deficit. To do so, this resolution outlines cutting government spending by $5.8 trillion over 10 years compared to current spending levels, having the effect of reducing the deficit by $1.65 trillion over 10 years. However, budget resolutions are merely Congressional blueprints and do not have the force of law. If this budget resolution were to pass Congress it could be the basis for legislation that could become law.

While this resolution does not include very many specifics, there are areas where education funding was targeted. First, it proposed to return Pell grants to pre-stimulus levels. This seems to mean cutting the maximum award from $5,550 to the FY08 level of $4,731. Second, the resolution recommends “Consolidat[ing] dozens of overlapping job-training programs into more accountable career scholarships to improve access to career development assistance and strengthen the first rung on the ladder out of poverty.” It is unclear what impact this recommendation, if included in later legislation, would have on CTE and Perkins programs.

The House Budget Committee will vote on the resolution today, and could go to the full House as early as Friday. However, even if it passes the House, it is unlikely to pass the Democratically-controlled Senate. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (ND) is working on his own budget resolution.

By admin in Legislation
Tags: , , , , ,

Job Opportunities, Living Wage Harder to Secure for Individuals Who do not go to College

Friday, April 1st, 2011

The U.S. Labor Department reported that employers added about 190,000 jobs in March, which overall is good news for the nation. However, those who have not secured postsecondary education will have a more difficult time securing a job that will provide them with a living wage, according to a recent New York Times article.

The article focuses primarily on the levels of income people must earn to sustain a living above the poverty line, however it does underscore the growing importance of preparing students for college and career — a primary objective of CTE.

“Given the needs of a more cognitive and more versatile labor force,” said Cliff Waldman, an economist at the Manufacturers Alliance, a trade group, said in the article.  “I’m afraid that those that don’t have the education are going to be part of a structural unemployment story.”

Individuals who only have earned a high school degree have are not doing well during these early stages of the nation’s economic recovery. Between 2008 and February, the gap in unemployment rates more than doubled between individuals who only earned a high school diploma and those with at least a four-year college degree.

By admin in News, Uncategorized
Tags: ,

Legislative Update: Appropriations, SECTORS Act

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

Congress Still Negotiating on Long Term Funding Bill

With just one week left to work out a deal before the current continuing resolution expires and the government shuts down, Congress is still trying to find a middle ground that they can agree on regarding cuts. As of Thursday evening, it was being reported that House Republicans and Senate Democrats are close to striking a deal that would cut $33 billion from current spending levels, but nothing had yet been agreed to.

SECTORS Act

This week, Senators Sherrod Brown (OH) and Olympia Snowe (ME) introduced S. 665, the Strengthening Employment Clusters to Organize Regional Success (SECTORS) Act. This bill would promote job creation by preparing workers with education and training tailored for jobs in high-growth industry sectors—like biosciences, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing—in regions across the country by supporting partnerships between businesses, unions, educators, and the public workforce system. Representatives Dave Loebsack (IA) and Todd Platts (PA) introduced companion legislation in the House.

“Workforce development and job creation go hand-in-hand. Even in this time of high unemployment, I’ve heard from Ohio companies in high-growth industries who say they’re ready to hire but can’t find workers with the specialized skills needed to fill the position,” Senator Brown said. “We need to do a better job of creating tailoring workforce development programs to meet the demands of these 21st-century industries. The SECTORS Act creates partnerships between educators, industry, and workforce training boards to ensure that workers have the right skills to get hired in high-tech, good-paying jobs. And by ensuring a skilled, local workforce, we can attract clusters of employers in high-growth industries.”

By admin in Legislation
Tags: , , , , ,

House Hearings in PA and NY Look at Role of Higher Ed in Job Training

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

This week, the House Education and the Workforce Committee held two field hearings in Pennsylvania and New York entitled, “Reviving our Economy: The Role of Higher Education in Job Growth and Development.” At these hearings, the Committee heard from representatives from local schools and colleges about the education and workforce needs in their communities and their ability to prepare graduates for the local economy.

At the hearing in Wilkes-Barre, PA, several witnesses cited the need for increased funding for education and job training programs, community colleges and Pell grants that help students get the preparation they need for jobs at a time when demand for these programs is increasing.

One of the witnesses at the hearing in Utica, NY asked in his written testimony, “… with understandably limited resources, how does a medium-sized community such as ours embark on the capacity building it needs to do in order to develop a workforce development education and training infrastructure that keeps pace with the needs of the future? As our economy is requiring higher and higher skills, the capacity of our systems to deliver those skills must continue to grow.”  This is a question that communities of every size across the country are asking at this critical time. Let’s hope Congress is listening.

By admin in Public Policy
Tags: , , , , ,

Career Pathways Innovation Fund Grants Available

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced the availability of up to $122 million in competitive Career Pathways Innovation Fund grants. The intent of these grants is to continue DOL’s support for community colleges, with a particular focus on career pathway programs implemented by community colleges in partnership with other organizations in the community. This program replaces the Community-Based Job Training Grants.

At least $65 million of the funding will go to projects that focus on the health care sector. The following four types of entities are eligible to apply as lead grantees: Local Workforce Investment Boards, individual community and technical colleges, community college districts, and state community college systems. DOL intends to fund approximately 40 to 50 grants ranging from $1 million to $5 million. Approximately $6.25 million of the total funds available will be reserved to support grantee efforts to conduct a third-party evaluation of the grant activities.

Issue Date: February 28, 2011

Closing Date: March 31, 2011

More information available here.

By admin in News, Public Policy
Tags: , , , , , ,

Business and Industry Sign on in Support of Tech Prep

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

Yesterday NASDCTEc, along with ACTE, AACC, and the Council of Chief State School Officers, sent a letter to the Senate signed by 168 businesses, employer groups and national organizations that voiced their support for maintaining Tech Prep funding. This tremendous show of support should go a long way in letting the Senate know that Perkins, and Tech Prep in particular, is vital to ensuring that the next generation of skilled workers is trained and ready to fill the jobs offered by these businesses.

If a business or businesses from your state signed on to the letter, please be sure to let them know how much you appreciate their support!

By admin in Legislation
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Secretary Duncan and Secretary Solis Launch First Community College Summit in Philadelphia

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis gave remarks this morning at the first of four Community College Summits. The Community College of Philadelphia hosted 150 invited guests including regional community college presidents, students, and leaders from businesses, foundations, and the government. The focus of the first summit was “Transitioning Adult Learners to Community Colleges and the Workforce.”

Secretary Duncan once again lauded community colleges, calling them the “unrecognized gem” of institutions within the education continuum. He emphasized that both 2-year and 4-year institutions cannot just focus on access, but they must also be adamant about increasing completion rates to meet President Obama’s goal for 2020 – to have the highest proportion of college graduates worldwide.

Secretary Solis noted that the role of community colleges in training healthcare workers is critical, as healthcare will continue to be one of the fastest growing sectors in need of skilled workers. Solis also pushed for stronger partnerships between community colleges and businesses to meet regional challenges.

The panelists, most from foundations or businesses, also discussed partnerships between community colleges and businesses or foundations. They focused on using leverage to stretch funding and on the necessity of quality data to back community colleges’ progress. Particular attention was paid to the use of competency-based education and contextual learning opportunities to accelerate adult learner degree attainment.

Though she did not attend the summit, Dr. Jill Biden wrote an op-ed on the topic in this morning’s Philadelphia Inquirer.

The next Community College Summit will take place on March 9th at the Lone Star Community College District in Houston, Texas.

By admin in News
Tags: , , ,

Dept. of Labor Announces Green Jobs Innovation Fund Competition

Thursday, February 24th, 2011

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the Green Jobs Innovation Fund competition to increase green job training within existing career training programs. About $40 million will be awarded to five to eight national or state organizations running career training programs at the local level.

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis remarked that “This grant program is an important effort in supporting green investments and equipping workers with the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to succeed in green occupations. The projects we expect to fund will enable workers to gain new skills that will make them competitive for industries and careers in demand.”

The grantees will use the funds to connect workers to green career pathways by linking Registered Apprenticeships with pre-apprenticeships and by providing skills training programs through community-based partnerships.

For more information on ETA competitive grants, visit ETA’s online tutorial. To request a grant application, visit Grants.gov or the Department of Labor grant website.

By admin in News
Tags: , ,

Ask Business and Industry Leaders in Your State to Sign Letter in Support of CTE Funding

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) and American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) strongly urge you to join in the fight to protect career and technical education (CTE) funded by the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.

The legislation proposes to cut the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act by eliminating its Tech Prep program. This elimination results in a significant loss of career and technical education funding to all states and districts and will impact the ability of education institutions to provide students the skills needed in today’s workplace. You can view a chart with projected state loses on ACTE’s Web site.

We need your help to show Congress the negative impact these cuts will have on businesses and the economy! Please join ACTE, NASDCTEc and AACC in a fight to save Perkins funding by signing your organization or business on to this letter. Contact Nancy Conneely at [email protected] by noon on Friday, February 25.  We will send the final version to the Senate.

By admin in Legislation
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Legislative Update: Appropriations, Community College Grants, ESEA

Friday, February 11th, 2011

Budget Cuts Could Get Deeper

House Republican freshmen this week rejected Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan’s (WI) proposal to cut $74 billion from President Obama’s FY1 budget, saying that it did not go far enough. The conservative wing of the party wants to keep their campaign pledge to cut $100 billion from the budget. House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (KY) and the rest of the Republican leadership have agreed to do so, and a new proposal is expected today.

Speaker John Boehner (OH) on Thursday said, “We are working with our members and our committee chairmen to make sure that this cut is as big as possible to send a signal that we’re serious about cutting spending here in Washington.”

What we are hearing on the Hill is that the larger the cuts get in the House bill, the less likely the bill is to pass the Democratically-controlled Senate. There is speculation that if the Senate rejects the bill, another short –term continuing resolution will be passed while both chambers work on passing a bill with less significant cuts. But that doesn’t mean Perkins is safe. Be sure to call your Member of Congress today to make sure they know how vital CTE is for turning around our economy!

TAA Bill Pulled From the House Floor

The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) bill that would have cut funding for the Community College Career Training Grant (CCCTG) program was pulled from the House floor on Tuesday because Republicans did not have the votes the pass it. This is because the conservative members of the Republican Study Committee opposed extending the trade adjustment program and because there was general concern about using the CCCTG program as an offset. The CCCTG program is funded through FY 2014, but many of the TAA worker benefit provisions expire tomorrow.

Senate Republicans Outline Areas of Focus for ESEA Reauthorization

On a recent call with media, Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Sen. Mike Enzi (WY) and Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN), the Ranking Member of the subcommittee overseeing K-12 policy identified nine areas that they believe ESEA reauthorization should focus on in order to fix the problems of NCLB. These areas are:

1.      Refining or eliminating the 2014 100 percent proficiency goal,

2.      Revamping the “prescriptive” AYP formula,

3.      Reviewing the use of assessments,

4.      Examining how sanctions impact rural schools,

5.      Revisiting HQT requirements,

6.      Expanding flexibility at the state and local level,

7.      Identifying education programs that are duplicative or overlapping,

8.      Making funding more flexible, and

9.      Involving parents in their child’s education more.

By admin in Legislation
Tags: , , , , , , ,

 

Series

Archives

1