U.S. Sen. Patty Murray introduced a new federal bill, the Promoting Innovations to 21st Century
Careers Act, that establishes a new $912 million grant program that
gives high school students a broader range of secondary and
post-secondary options.
“This is about closing the skills gap between what
students have and what employers need,” Murray said in a statement on
her Web site regarding the bill. “Right now we are at a crossroads.
Drop-out rates are up, unemployment is up and the high-wage,
high-skilled jobs of the future are going unfilled.
“Now is the time to work together to find new solutions
that will not only benefit both our kids and our schools but also our
economy in the long-run,” she said. “That’s why I have introduced
legislation that will bring together employers, schools, workforce and
economic development experts, labor and more to develop ways to help
students get the skills and credentials they need for family-wage
careers in their regions. In an increasingly global and dynamic economy,
a skilled, prepared workforce is more important than ever.”
The bill has garnered support from many in the state’s
educational system, including State Superintendent Randy Dorn.
“I appreciate the scope of the bill,” he said. “Its value
to business and labor comes from getting students engaged early in a
trade or industry. And its value to the community comes from students
entering the workforce with not only a valuable set of skills, but
working in a career they enjoy.”
The bill would provide strategies to give high school
students more help as they prepare for the transition out of high school
with hands-on job training experience; teacher training on how to
incorporate real-world experiences into the classroom; enhanced guidance
and career-education programs; and collaboration with regional
employers, post-secondary institutions, and workforce and economic
development representatives.
The bill also would create “career pathways” that would
provide students with hands-on experience and contextual learning in a
field they are interested in. Not only that, it also recognizes that
high school students often have varying interests and provides for
learning accomplished in one field to be applied to other fields.
“The bill adds tremendous value to students by giving them
another avenue to find their careers,” Dorn said.
The bill, originally introduced in 2008, also recognizes
the importance of post-secondary education in today’s society.
“According to the Educational Commission of the States,
some 60 percent of today’s jobs require some training or education
beyond high school, compared to just 20 percent in the 1940s,” the bill
states.
The bill’s next stop is the Senate Health, Education,
Labor and Pensions Committee.
“Education is the key to a bright future and I’m hopeful
that the ideas I’ve presented in my bill will fuel a national discussion
about ways we can improve education and keep our economy strong,”
Murray said.
– Central Kitsap Reporter
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