Send a letter to Congress in Support of H.R. 2353
This week the House Committee on Education and the Workforce advanced the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, which would reform career and technical education. Please contact your U.S. representative and urge them to support this legislation which aligns programs with local employer needs, includes better reporting, increases work-based learning, promotes industry-recognized credentials and increases federal investment.
The bill is similar to legislation that passed in the House last Congress but failed to advance through the Senate. AGC remains hopeful the legislation will again pass the House later this year and that the Senate will follow suit and approve the bipartisan effort. AGC joined the Jobs and Careers Coalition and a multi-industry effort in advocating for the bill this week.
The bill is important to the construction industry because it authorizes funding for career and technical education programs, providing more than $1 billion annually to high schools and post-secondary vocational training programs. The bill was last authorized over a decade ago, and it no longer addresses the skills gap in today’s workforce. The greater flexibility to states on how they spend their allotments, the new performance metrics and the alignment of programs with other education and workforce training legislation will streamline federal programs. Similar to other education and workforce training programs, the success of the program rests on how it is ultimately implemented and how well employers collaborate and engage with educators in their local and state communities.
For more information, contact James Young at [email protected] or (202) 547-0133.