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Posts Tagged ‘jobs’

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CTE in the News: If You’ve Got the Skills, She’s Got the Job

Wednesday, November 21st, 2012

The skills gap — the lack of workers qualified to fill open high-skilled jobs – will only continue to widen and threaten the future of our nation if policymakers, industries and education leaders do not address the issue of equipping students (of all ages) with the skills demanded by the economy, according to a recent New York Times op-ed.

“We’re in the midst of a perfect storm: a Great Recession that has caused a sharp increase in unemployment and a Great Inflection — a merger of the information technology revolution and globalization that is simultaneously wiping out many decent-wage, middle-skilled jobs, which were the foundation of our middle class, and replacing them with decent-wage, high-skilled jobs. Every decent-paying job today takes more skill and more education, but too many Americans aren’t ready,” says Thomas L. Friedman, author of the op-ed.

The nation has three million open jobs around the country but an 8 percent unemployment rate, he notes.

Friedman calls for reform with a focus on assisting community colleges and universities to keep pace with the changes in the economy so courses reflect industry demands and students are prepared for the jobs of today and the future. Further, he suggests a type of Race to the Top initiative to incentivize businesses to embed workers in universities and universities to embed professors inside businesses “so we get a much better match between schooling and the job markets.”

Friedman goes on to close his op-ed with insight from Eduardo Padrón, the president of Miami Dade College: “The skill shortage is real… The big issue in America is not the fiscal deficit, but the deficit in understanding about education and the role it plays in the knowledge economy.”

Erin Uy, Communications & Marketing Manager

By admin in Uncategorized
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Bus Tour Shines a Light on Problems Facing Youth

Wednesday, March 14th, 2012
This week, our partners at Young Invincibles launched an 18-state National Youth Bus Tour that will take them to every corner of the country listening to the stories, issues, and solutions of young Americans.  They’ll be co-hosting roundtables with young adults (18-34), both in school and out, to talk about critical issues like jobs, higher education and health care, and then bringing those voices directly to our political leaders and the media.
You can sign up to do your own youth roundtable by emailing Members@YoungInvincibles.org, or join an existing event.  Check out the tour schedule atwww.YoungAmerica.is.  You can also help by tweeting or posting on Facebook what #YoungAmericaIs to you (ex. entrepreneurial, uninsured, trying to graduate, etc.).  Follow the bus tour on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and at www.YoungAmerica.Is.
Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: ESEA, Bills Introduced

Friday, October 21st, 2011

Senate Marks Up ESEA

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee met on Wednesday to begin markup the draft Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization bill introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (IA) last week. The markup was threatened with delays when Senator Rand Paul (KY) objected to the Committee meeting longer than two hours after the Senate convened on Wednesday. This is a procedural rule, rarely employed in the Senate, that is almost always waived. Senator Paul was concerned that no hearing had been held on the bill this session (10 were held last session) and he felt there was not enough time to review the bill before the markup. On Thursday, Senators Harkin and Enzi (WY) reached an agreement with Senator Paul that in exchange for dropping his objection, the Committee will hold a hearing on the bill on November 8.

The Committee reported the bill last night by a vote of 15-7. Three Republicans, Senators Enzi, Lamar Alexander (TN) and Mark Kirk (IL), joined all Democrats in voting for the bill. Senator Harkin hopes to bring the bill to the floor for debate and a vote before Thanksgiving.

During the markup, Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT) introduced an amendment to expand internships and apprenticeships, with the goal of alleviating dropouts and providing skills training. Because the amendment would require locals to use the money for this purpose, several Senators opposed it, but said they would support it if it were an allowable use of funds. Blumenthal agreed to withdraw the amendment and change the language, but wants to be sure that there are strong incentives for locals to use funding for internships and apprenticeships.

Bills Introduced

Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act

This week Senators Menendez (NJ), Reid (NV), Harkin (IA), Stabenow (MI) and Casey (PA) introduced S. 1723, Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act.  The bill contains the provision of the American Jobs Act that provides $35 billion to create or protect education jobs, as well as jobs for police officers and firefighters.  The jobs supported in this bill are not just teachers, but any public school K12 employee.

However, last night the Senate failed to invoke cloture on the bill by a vote of 50-50. All Republicans voted against it, as did Senators Lieberman (CT), Nelson (NE) and Pryor (AR). As result, the bill will not be voted on.

Preparing Students for Success in the Global Economy Act

Senators Jeff Merkley (OR), Al Franken (MN), Mark Begich (AK), and Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) introduced S. 1675, Preparing Students for Success in the Global Economy Act. This bill aims to increase student access to courses in STEM subjects and provide additional resources to recruit, train, and support STEM teachers.

Grantees must include in their applications a description of how their activities will be coordinated with other programs and activities, including Perkins-funded CTE programs. Local subgrantees must also describe in their applications how grant funds will be coordinated with programs and activities, including Perkins-funded CTE programs.

“If we don’t train our children for the jobs of the future, we won’t be able to compete in the future,” Merkley said. “Whenever I talk to companies like Intel back in Oregon, they tell me that STEM education is key, and in far too many schools, the resources aren’t there to prepare our students for careers in engineering and science. This legislation will help address this deficit.”

 

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in Legislation
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Connecticut Mentoring Program Connects Youth with Top Helicopter Manufacturer

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

While business leaders across the nation voice their difficulties in finding highly-skilled employees, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is closing the skills gap through a program that connects youth with skilled mentors and, oftentimes, rewarding careers.

For years, Teamsters in Stratford, Connecticut, saw a need to connect students in the community to area businesses trying to fill job vacancies. The Sikorsky Corporation, a helicopter plant, was among these businesses. High recruitment costs and other barriers kept the plant from hiring qualified workers. Sikorsky partnered with the local Teamsters group to form the Teamsters/Sikorsky Career Pathways Mentoring Program, a pipeline for students into manufacturing positions.

Through the program, students are selected from eleven area high schools to participate in an eight-week summer internship that provides hands-on work experience facilitated by Teamster mentors. The highly-competitive program only draws from applicants who are enrolled in a Career Technical Education (CTE) program at school.

For the Sikorsky Corporation, the mentorship program provides a new source of skilled workers with fewer recruitment and retention costs. When interns are hired as full-time employees, they require less training and already have work experience and knowledge of the business.

Student interns benefit as well, earning an average of $15 to $17 per hour. For many students, the Career Pathways program has led to a full-time job at Sikorsky. According to one area Teamster, “We brought this program to the company years ago in an effort to promote the advantages of unionized work and to get that message to young people. What we didn’t anticipate at the time was the personal impact the program would have on the students and the mentors who have participated.”

An article in this month’s Teamster magazine, “A Milestone in Youth Development: Career Pathways Mentoring Program Celebrates 10 Years of Excellence,” highlights this successful program. Read more on the program’s website.

Kara Herbertson, Education Policy Analyst

By admin in News
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Legislative Update: American Jobs Act, ESEA, Bills Introduced

Friday, October 14th, 2011

American Jobs Act Fails in the Senate

Earlier this week the Senate voted on a Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to S. 1660, the American Jobs Act. However, the motion failed to muster the 60 votes necessary to break cloture and formally consider the bill. As a result, the Senate plans to break the President’s jobs package up into pieces and vote on each one individually. The House has not indicated whether they will vote on the bill in the coming weeks.

Senate Introduces Comprehensive ESEA Draft

On Tuesday Senator Tom Harkin (IA) introduced the long anticipated Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act of 2011. According to Harkin, the bill will set high expectations for all children to graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills needed for success in college and careers, support teachers and principals to help them provide high quality instruction, ensure disadvantaged students get their fair share of resources, focus federal attention on turning around low-performing schools and closing achievement gaps, and remove federal barriers to give states and communities the flexibility they need to innovate.

The bill would eliminate some of the more controversial vestiges of No Child Left Behind, and it would codify into law some of President Obama’s top education reform priorities:

We are still working through the draft bill to see how it affects the Perkins Act and CTE. We will provide a CTE-specific summary next week. The bill is scheduled to be marked up next week, beginning on Tuesday afternoon. The markup is expected to take four days.

Bills Introduced

Education for Tomorrow’s Jobs Act

Rep. Glenn Thompson (PA) and Sen. Bob Casey (PA) introduced the Education for Tomorrow’s Jobs Act this week, H.R. 3154 and S. 1686 respectively. This bill would amend Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to allow school districts to use Title I ESEA funds to better integrate academics with CTE through coursework and networks of schools. The bill would encourage school districts to link secondary school programs, including both middle and high schools, and align secondary and postsecondary education. Further, the bill would leverage a variety of school, employer and community partners.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

 

 

 

By admin in Legislation
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New NASDCTEc Resources: Fact Sheets on Job Growth and CTE Student Outcomes

Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

Six sectors are projected to account for 85 percent of new jobs in the United States through the end of the decade. Are current CTE programs preparing students for jobs in these high-demand sectors? Take a look at NASDCTEc’s latest fact sheets to find out, and to view other compelling reasons to support CTE!

Career Technical Education: Preparing Students in Areas of Job Growth
Career Technical Education: High Expectations, High Outcomes

Fact sheets and other resources are available in the Advocacy Tools section of the website.

Kara Herbertson, Education Policy Analyst

By admin in Research, Resources
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Why Do Students Choose STEM?

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

The U.S. Department of Labor projects that the U.S. will have more than a million job openings in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields by 2018; however, they also find that too few workers will be qualified to fill these positions. Microsoft released findings today from two surveys that suggest the reasons many students choose to study STEM fields during postsecondary education and how high schools can better prepare students who want to pursue these fields.

The first survey includes responses from postsecondary students pursuing degrees in STEM subjects and the second surveys parents of K-12 students.

Findings from the survey of postsecondary STEM students:

Findings from the survey of parents of K-12 students:

Career Technical Education (CTE) offers challenging courses that prepares students for these in-demand fields through the STEM Career Cluster. As the student survey shows, students feel more prepared to pursue STEM fields in postsecondary education when they have completed rigorous STEM courses during high school. Whatever a student’s motivation for studying STEM may be, CTE provides a solid background in these subjects that will prepare students to further pursue STEM through postsecondary education or a career.

Kara Herbertson, Education Policy Analyst

By admin in News, Research
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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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Report Finds STEM Jobs Still on the Rise

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

The nation’s unemployment rate remains high and jobs are scarce, yet workers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields remain in high demand.

A report from the U.S. Department of Commerce shows that STEM jobs have grown three times as fast as non-STEM jobs over the last decade. Last year, the almost 8 million Americans who worked in STEM fields represented only about 6 percent of the entire labor force. Yet, the country relies on these workers to drive America’s competitiveness and innovation.

U.S. Dept. of Commerce: Recent and Projected Growth in STEM and Non-STEM Employment

The low supply of available STEM workers translates into higher wages and less joblessness than non-STEM employees. Even STEM degree holders working in non-STEM fields benefit similarly. The future for STEM jobs continues to looks bright, as the Department of Commerce projects STEM jobs will continue to grow at a much faster rate than non-STEM jobs.

STEM jobs include professional and technical support occupations in computer science and mathematics, engineering, and life and physical sciences. Career Technical Education (CTE) students in the STEM Career Cluster are prepared for further education or careers in these high-wage, high-demand fields through rigorous academic and technical training.

Kara Herbertson, Education Policy Analyst, [email protected]

By admin in News, Publications
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Legislative Update: Debt Ceiling, WIA Markup Delayed, Bills Introduced

Friday, July 1st, 2011

Leaders in Washington continue to struggle as the August 2nd deadline for lifting the federal debt ceiling approaches (See “Debt Limit Deal” in last week’s update). At President Obama’s request, the Senate recess scheduled for next week has been cancelled to continue work on the debt ceiling.

Obama held a press conference this week to reaffirm that revenues must be included in any deficit reduction plan. Republicans and Democrats remain at an impasse over the inclusion of revenues in the package, but Obama stated that both parties had already identified more than $1 trillion in spending cuts. In his speech, the President referred to his support of a manufacturing initiative that would enable 500,000 workers to receive skills and training to fill manufacturing job vacancies. He also said that education will continue to be funded.

Sen. Daniel Inouye, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, released a statement yesterday strongly opposing cuts to areas of non-defense discretionary spending, such as education. Sen. Inouye wrote “The focus of our deficit talks should not be on domestic discretionary spending, but on the real reason why we are not running a surplus: historically low revenues, soaring mandatory spending, and the cost of war.”

In other news, the Senate was scheduled to markup the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) this week but the markup has been pushed back to mid-July.

Bills Introduced:

Manufacturing Reinvestment Account Act

Sen. Blumenthal (CT) introduced S. 1237, the Manufacturing Reinvestment Account Act, that would make it easier for manufacturers to invest new capital into equipment, facilities, and job training to enable them to grow and create more jobs. This bill supports President Obama’s recent initiative to increase job training in the manufacturing sector.

Women and Workforce Investment for Nontraditional Jobs (Women WIN Jobs) Act

Rep. Polis (CO) introduced H.R. 2315, the Women and Workforce Investment for Nontraditional Jobs (Women WIN Jobs) Act. The bill would help recruit, train and place more women into high tech and advanced manufacturing fields. Currently, women account for only one-quarter of the workforce in these areas.

Reengaging Americans in Serious Education by Uniting Programs (RAISE UP) Act

Sen. Stabenow (MI) introduced S. 1279, the Reengaging Americans in Serious Education by Uniting Programs Act (RAISE UP). The bill would coordinate existing programs to improve services to youth who have dropped out of high school. Students would be put on track to attain a high school diploma, postsecondary credential, and career that provides a family-sustaining wage.

America Recruits Act

Sen. Warner (VA) introduced S. 1247, the America Recruits Act, that would develop and recruit new, high-value jobs to the United States and encourage off-shore jobs to be brought back and filled by American workers.

By admin in News, Public Policy
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