Langevin Urges Support for Career and Technical Education

Speaking on the House Floor today to recognize February as Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month, Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) called on his colleagues to increase funding for the Perkins Act, which funds CTE programs. Langevin, who co-chairs the bipartisan Career and Technical Education Caucus with Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA), has focused on the importance of the Perkins program to close the skills gap by better aligning education and job training efforts with employers’ needs.

Noting that the need for CTE has increased since the last time the Perkins Act was fully funded in 2010, Langevin built off the momentum of the State of the Union address in which President Obama announced “a new challenge to redesign America’s high schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy.”

“We’ll reward schools that develop new partnerships with colleges and employers, and create classes that focus on science, technology, engineering, and math – the skills today’s employers are looking for to fill jobs right now and in the future,” said the President, who also referenced a collaboration between New York Public Schools, higher education and IBM that graduates students with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree in computers or engineering.

Langevin says Congress must recognize the critical role that CTE plays in creating these effective partnerships that give students the skills they need for available jobs.

“More and more employers need highly skilled workers,” said Langevin. “I hear right now from Rhode Island employers with job openings that they can’t fill because they can’t find workers with the right skills to fill the jobs that they do have available. And meanwhile, our unemployment rate remains unacceptably high… How can we expect or help businesses to start a company or expand their company or to relocate jobs from overseas if we don’t have the workers with the right skills to do the jobs that would be and are available?”

Transcript

Mr. Speaker, I rise in recognition today of Career and Technical Education Month and I’m proud to be joined by Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania who I know spoke earlier this morning. Mr. Thompson is my good friend and fellow Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Career and Technical Education Caucus.

CTE is an investment in the future of our economy, our work force, and our country. From skills training in high schools to community college and professional programs, CTE plays a critical role for workers of every age and I'm so proud that President Obama called for support for CTE in his State of the Union message last evening. Now, the most important step I believe that we can take this year to support CTE is to fully re-authorize the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act.

Currently, the Perkins Act is authorized at a level set in 2010, which doesn’t reflect the reality of a modern economy where more workers are looking at high-skilled fields. More and more employers need highly skilled workers. I right now hear from Rhode Island employers with job openings that they can’t fill because they can’t find the workers with the right skills to fill the jobs that they do have available. And meanwhile, our unemployment rate remains unacceptably high.

Closing the skills gap is one important step that we can take to ensure that workers can fit and fill the needs of expanding industry, both today and in the future. After all how can we expect or help businesses to start a company or expand their company or to relocate jobs from overseas if we don’t have the workers with the right skills to do the jobs that would be and are available?

So, Mr. Speaker, I look forward to a continued partnership with my good friend, “GT” Thompson from Pennsylvania in the 113th Congress and I certainly urge my colleagues to join the Career and Technical Education Caucus and to support the full re-authorization of the Perkins Act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With that I yield back the balance of my time.