October 12, 2017

Manchin, Capito Call for Senate Action to Renew Career and Technical Education

Senators call for reauthorization of Perkins program to help prepare West Virginia students and workers for good-paying jobs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) yesterday joined a bipartisan group of 57 other senators in calling on Senate leaders to renew the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, which provides funding for critical career and technical education.

“It is crucial that the Senate work in a bipartisan effort to help our nation’s students acquire the skills needed to be successful in today’s work environment,” the senators wrote in a letter to Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) of the. “Employers are reporting a shortage of skilled workers to fill in-demand positions. Modernized and relevant career and technical education (CTE) programs, designed with the input of employers and responsive to the needs identified by labor market data, are central to overcoming this skills gap.”

In reauthorizing the Perkins Act, which expired on September 30, the bipartisan group of senators—led by Senators Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.)—are calling for the HELP Committee to focus on: aligning programs to regional labor market needs; supporting collaborations between schools and employers; increasing work-based learning opportunities; and promoting the use of industry recognized credentials. The U.S. House of Representatives reauthorized the program earlier this year in a bipartisan vote.

The full text of the letter is below, and a PDF is available here.

Dear Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray:

We urge that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions take action on reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act as soon as possible during the 115th Congress. It is crucial that the Senate work in a bipartisan effort to help our nation’s students acquire the skills needed to be successful in today’s work environment.

Employers are reporting a shortage of skilled workers to fill in-demand positions. Modernized and relevant career and technical education (CTE) programs, designed with the input of employers and responsive to the needs identified by labor market data, are central to overcoming this skills gap.

New legislation should focus on areas where improvements can be made to current law, such as:

  • Align CTE programs to the needs of the regional, state, and local labor market;
  • Support effective and meaningful collaboration between secondary and postsecondary institutions and employers;
  • Increase student participation in work-based learning opportunities; and
  • Promote the use of industry recognized credentials and other recognized postsecondary credentials.

These improvements will more effectively spend federal dollars to help our nation’s students acquire the skills that they need and employers are demanding. We urge you to move forward with reauthorization of Perkins Career and Technical Education and hope to continue a bipartisan commitment to invest in our nation’s students, workers and economy through the Perkins CTE program.

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