NAM’s Timmons Welcomes Congressional Passage Of CTE Reauthorization Which “Empowers A New Generation

In a press release, The National Association of Manufacturers (7/25) issued a statement from NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons on Congressional passage of “HR 2353, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, which reauthorizes the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) Act.” Timmons is quoted saying, “This bipartisan legislation empowers a new generation of American workers to improve their lives with high-tech, high-paying jobs in modern manufacturing. Tax reform and regulatory relief have powered tremendous manufacturing growth, but to fill the jobs manufacturers are creating, we need more workers with the right skills.” Timmons adds, “Our research shows there will be as many as 2 million unfilled manufacturing jobs by 2025 if we don’t take additional steps to upskill our workforce, which is why the NAM has worked so hard to get this bill to the finish line.” Timmons calls the vote to approve Perkins CTE reauthorization “a major step toward closing the skills gap and addressing this challenge,” adding that “manufacturers are encouraged to have partners in the White House like the president and Ivanka Trump who are laser-focused on worker training and have proposed bold solutions and a national workforce strategy.” The release also states that “the NAM has been a key supporter of Perkins CTE reauthorization,” and earlier this year the NAM had “urged the Senate HELP Committee to advance reauthorization legislation and organized a coalition of nearly 500 business and education groups in support of the program. In addition, NAM members highlighted the need to reauthorize Perkins CTE at multiple hearings before Congress.”

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