[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 286 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 286

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that investing in 
 the Nation's skilled workforce is investing in the Nation's economy, 
and that in accordance with existing law, the House of Representatives 
  should promote public and private partnerships to increase training 
 programs, tax incentives, industry and State apprenticeships, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 1, 2015

Mrs. Lawrence submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
              the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that investing in 
 the Nation's skilled workforce is investing in the Nation's economy, 
and that in accordance with existing law, the House of Representatives 
  should promote public and private partnerships to increase training 
 programs, tax incentives, industry and State apprenticeships, and for 
                            other purposes.

Whereas the Department of Labor and State Workforce Investment Boards are 
        uniquely positioned to lead the efforts to secure the Nation's need for 
        a competitive and highly skilled workforce;
Whereas ``The Skills Gap in U.S. Manufacturing 2015 and Beyond'' report projects 
        that over the next decade, nearly 3,500,000 manufacturing jobs will 
        likely need to be filled, and the skills gap is expected to result in 
        2,000,000 of those jobs going unfilled;
Whereas many manufacturing companies and large corporations have invested in 
        more automation and complex machinery to reduce labor cost, 
        comprehensive training programs are still needed to increase the skill 
        levels of employees to maintain, troubleshoot and repair those automated 
        systems;
Whereas highly skilled and technical workers are as valuable to the Nation's 
        workforce as college graduates;
Whereas apprenticeship programs meet the skilled workforce needs of the Nation's 
        industry, and have been training millions of qualified individuals for 
        careers since 1937;
Whereas the successes of State and private industry programs such as the South 
        Carolina Works Apprenticeship, Michigan's Skilled Trades Training Fund, 
        Microsoft Student Advantage, and IAM/Boeing Joint Apprenticeship 
        demonstrate best practices to be studied;
Whereas the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act must better 
        provide for States to include community partners and private industry as 
        they develop plans for career and technical education programs;
Whereas States and local educational agencies need to better assess student 
        development of 21st century skills as an element of the youth workforce 
        investment activities and adult and dislocated worker training services 
        funded by local workforce development programs;
Whereas apprenticeship training has proven to be one of the most effective ways 
        to develop highly skilled craftspeople in selected trades;
Whereas apprenticeships are cost effective, goal orientated, and designed to 
        meet specific skill needs of employers;
Whereas the U.S. Department of Labor maintains a database of all registered 
        apprentices in the United States and as of 2014, shows only 410,000 
        registered apprentices;
Whereas in 2003, there were about 489,000 registered apprentices in the United 
        States and in 2014, there were only 288,000;
Whereas only 2 percent of the registered apprentices are related to 
        manufacturing industries;
Whereas the manufacturing industry employs approximately 12,000,000 workers and 
        less than 1 percent of the total manufacturing workforce receives formal 
        advanced training in the form of apprenticeships; and
Whereas statistics show that a graduate apprentice earns a higher wage, has a 
        more stable work record, and is promoted more quickly and more often 
        than workers who have not completed an apprenticeship: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
greater investment in the Nation's skilled and technical workforce is 
needed and all appropriate measures should be taken to ensure the 
Nation's workforce remains competitive by incentivizing States and 
private industry through tax credits, competitive grants, and other 
measures.
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