CTE 101 Briefing

Feb 3, 2015
Press Release

Representatives Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA) sent the below memo to their colleagues inviting them to attend a briefing on career and technical education:

Dear Colleague:

As co-chairs of the bipartisan Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus, we would like to invite you and your staff to a briefing entitled CTE 101: The Nuts & Bolts of Establishing a Qualified Workforce, on Tuesday, February 10, at 10am am in 2261 Rayburn.

Career and Technical Education is a tried and true solution for creating jobs, retraining workers, and ensuring that students of all ages are career- and college-ready. According to the most recent data from the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, approximately 12 million students participated in secondary and postsecondary CTE programs during the 2012-2013 school year.  In every congressional district, CTE programs play a vital role to ensure that skilled workers are capable of remaining competitive in high-wage, high-skill, and high-demand career fields.  These fields include STEM disciplines, nursing, allied health, construction, information technology, energy, cybersecurity, sustainability, and other areas that keep our nation competitive in the global economy.

In a Society for Human Resource Management poll of employers, more than half reported they were unable to recruit workers for open positions, and human resource professionals predict a lack of workforce readiness will affect employers for years to come. The skilled trades are the hardest jobs to fill in the United States, with recent data citing 550,000 jobs open in the trade, transportation and utilities sector and 246,000 jobs open in manufacturing. CTE programs assist businesses in closing the skills gap on a daily basis, by training a competitive workforce to fulfill these 21st Century demands.

The briefing will highlight the importance of CTE in workforce development programs and steps that Congress can take to further strengthen CTE programs nationally and in your congressional districts.

Panelists include:

  • Mitchell Coppes, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Manager, Association for Career and Technical Education
  • Kim Green: Executive Director, National Association of State Directors of Career and Technical Education Consortium
  • Eric Gearhart, Special Projects Consultant, SkillsUSA

We hope that you will be able to attend this briefing and learn about the important role CTE plays in your state’s economy.

 

Sincerely,

 

Jim Langevin                                                   Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson

Member of Congress                                       Member of Congress