[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 14 (Friday, February 11, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 11, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                    SCHOOL-TO-WORK OPPORTUNITIES ACT

 Mr. COHEN. Mr. President, the United States could do a much 
better job of educating our youth for the workplace. Not every high 
school student will attend college--nor should they. In a prosperous 
country like ours, however, we commit few resources to helping those 
young people who do not intend to go on to college. In the competitive 
world of the 21st century, our investment in education cannot simply 
focus on ensuring opportunities for youth to earn a baccalaureate 
degree. Rather we must finds ways to prepare our young people for all 
of tomorrow's possibilities--be they work or school.
  One of the most unfortunate byproducts of the current educational 
system is that far too many--almost half--of today's adults have 
trouble reading and writing. These people have difficulty holding a 
decent job, and many spend their lives trying to find work that is 
rewarding and will support their families.
  As a nation in the international marketplace, we cannot wait for our 
youth to become adults before we help prepare them for decent jobs and 
rewarding careers. The global economy has the potential for enormous 
reward, but we must prepare to meet the challenge.
  One way to meet this challenge is to reinvent our educational system, 
which in some ways is still the envy of the world, so that it can meet 
today's needs and provide for ways to meet tomorrow's opportunities.
  Unfortunately, no State has a comprehensive plan in place to meet the 
needs of youth whose opportunities exist primarily in the working 
world. I agree with the National Research Council's conclusion that, as 
a country, we tend to think of ``support for labor market transitions, 
particularly for youths most at risk of failing to make the school-to-
work transition * * * as a social, rather than an economic, 
responsibility.'' It is time that we radically change this philosophy.
  In Maine, the school-to-work issue is an important one. Compared with 
other Stats, Maine ranks near the bottom in sending high school 
students on to 2- and 4-year colleges. Fortunately, Maine is well ahead 
of most States in having three excellent school-to-work programs.
  The Maine Youth Apprenticeship Program, for example, was recently 
selected by the National Alliance of Business as the School-to-Work 
Program of the Year. Students in this program spend 20 weeks in class 
and 15 weeks working for a company in their field of interest. This 
pattern continues through their senior year, but with 15 additional 
weeks working for a company. In the third year of the program, students 
spend 34 weeks on the job and 16 weeks taking courses at their local 
technical college.
  The apprenticeship program benefits both the student and the business 
involved. Students finish the program with a high school diploma, 
significant work experience, and technical college training. They also 
receive certification that they have mastered a particular technical 
skill and can earn up to $5,000 each year on the job. Employers can be 
certain they are getting a qualified worker, already trained and 
trustworthy, to improve production.
  Maine's Youth Apprenticeship Program is complemented by another 
education effort, Jobs for Maine's Graduates, which operates in 20 
schools in 17 communities throughout the State. Among other things, 
this program provides job specialists who are responsible for 20 to 40 
students who are at risk of dropping out of school. In addition, the 
program provides basic skills education, job search activities, 
instruction on 37 skills necessary in a work environment through a 4 
day-a-week credit class, and 9 months of follow-up support after high 
school graduation.
  I am particularly excited about Maine's third school-to-work program 
called technology preparation or tech-prep. This program combines the 
last 2 years of high school with 2 years of postsecondary work at a 
technical college. It provides students with the math, science, and 
technological skills they will need to succeed in the economy of the 
1990's. By combining academic and occupational subjects, tech-prep is 
designed to prepare students for high-skill technical occupations and 
offers a more practical, hands-on way for kids to learn than the more 
abstract, traditional method of learning currently taking place in most 
of this Nation's schools.

  Last year, I introduced legislation to help improve tech-prep 
programs across the country. I am pleased that parts of my bill were 
incorporated into the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. Specifically, 
my legislation would give highest priority to those tech-prep 
applications that provide for certain activities, such as employment 
placement and the transfer of students to 4-year baccalaureate 
programs, after completion of the technical college component of the 
program. Without changing the basic thrust of the current tech-prep 
programs, my legislation would open additional opportunities to 
students who want more advanced training.
  In addition, my tech-prep legislation would allow schools greater 
flexibility in providing tech-prep classes. Current law requires that 
tech-prep programs begin in the eleventh grade. Unfortunately, many 
students who drop out of school do so before the eleventh grade and 
having a tech-prep program in place earlier may prevent some of those 
students from dropping out and help those who stay in school learn more 
effectively through tech-prep's applied learning method. My legislation 
would allow for tech-prep programs to begin either in the 9th or 11th 
grades.
  The School-to-Work Opportunities Act will encourage States to develop 
comprehensive programs to help high school students who do not intend 
to go on to college transition to the working world. It builds upon 
existing school-to-work programs, such as Maine's youth apprenticeship 
and tech-prep programs, but allows States the flexibility to create 
their own programs. I believe that the School-to-Work Opportunities Act 
offers an important method for reaching youths who will not go to 
college but who must prepare to support themselves after they complete 
high school.
  I am particularly pleased that the Senate clarified language in the 
bill so that businesses and other organizations would not be required 
to pay students for work. Rural States, like Maine, simply do not have 
an industry base to pay all students participating in a school-to-work 
program. While these students should be fairly compensated for their 
labors, often the exposure to the working world is what they will find 
to be truly invaluable. The legislation will now allow students to 
benefit from a variety of school-to-work programs, only some of which 
will pay for work.
  We can no longer ignore the large numbers of young people who will 
not go to college. As our world becomes more competitive, these youths 
will be left behind. They will continue to knock on our doors for help. 
We can help them now by preparing them for the working world, or we can 
help them later by providing adult basic education classes and other 
social services to help them get ahead. My choice is to help them now. 
I do not believe we can wait.

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