Posted: | January 11, 2018 10:27 AM |
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From: | Representative Ryan A. Bizzarro |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | RECIRCULATION: Co-sponsorship of Legislation-Industry Partnerships |
In the near future, I will be introducing legislation that will help ensure that Industry Partnerships are able to effectively identify industry needs and provide job training and education in order to expand opportunities for workers and increase competition among businesses. As many of you know, there is a “skills-gap” in Pennsylvania, where employers are struggling to fill vacancies because many prospective workers do not have the educational or professional qualifications to fill those jobs. Skilled trade and manufacturing are two examples of industries that are struggling to fill positions. Therefore, as many testifiers explained before the Select Subcommittee on Technical Education and Career Readiness, there is a “pressing need to better align workforce needs and educational investments.” My legislation seeks to accomplish this through the popular, Industry Partnerships Program. Specifically, this legislation will amend Chapter 13, Industry Partnerships, of the Workforce Development Act to clarify and strengthen the role of post-secondary schools’ involvement in Industry Partnerships and encourage the Department of Labor and Industry to provide real-time labor market data by utilizing credible research, analyses, and data from non-governmental sources to overcome the lag in federal labor market data. Furthermore, this legislation would have the Department of Education promulgate regulations, in consultation with career and technical school administrators, to conform to career and technical schools’ needs and assist to align these needs with employer demands. I hope you will join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation to ensure that Pennsylvanians are entering the workforce with the skills necessary to succeed in today’s economy. |
Introduced as HB2012