Senate HELP Committee Moves Perkins CTE Act To Full Senate For Vote In Effort To Close Skills Gap

AICC, through its membership in the Council of Manufacturing Associations, is pleased to present the "Manufacturing Economic Daily Newsletter” from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MANUFACTURERS (NAM).

In a blog post for Shopfloor (6/26) NAM Director of Tax and Domestic Economic Policy Charles Crain writes that "the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, which encourages training that will equip students for manufacturing jobs and promotes the work-based acquisition of skills, is an essential piece of legislation for building and sustaining the skilled workforce of tomorrow,” adding that "the National Association of Manufacturers supports its reauthorization, and we were glad to see the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions take the first crucial step toward reauthorization today by voting to send the Perkins CTE Act to the full Senate for a vote.” The NAM released a statement of support to the HELP Committee prior to its vote on the bill, saying, "Your bipartisan legislation is a critical step to ensuring that our nation’s students have the skills they need to be successful in the 21st century economy…The NAM applauds your dedication to addressing the employee skills gap that manufacturers across the country are facing.” As part of "a coalition of more than 500 organizations,” the NAM supports the bill "because employers are reporting a shortage of skilled workers to fill in-demand positions, ensuring that secondary and postsecondary institutions offer modern, quality and relevant career and technical education (CTE) programs remains a leading priority so that we can develop and grow our nation’s workforce.”        

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) tweeted the Shopfloor post, writing, "Big day – we unanimously (and finally) updated #PerkinsCTE. I’ve called for this action for years, and today’s legislation, backed by Ds & Rs, includes pieces of 3 of my bills to improve quality and access to career and tech education. Will help prepare students for good jobs!”

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