[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 181 (Wednesday, November 13, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8790-H8791]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
                RECOGNIZING NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP WEEK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
National Apprenticeship Week. This year is the fifth anniversary for 
the celebration that aims to connect job seekers with businesses and 
educators in our communities to highlight the wealth of apprenticeship 
opportunities that are available.
  For too long, it has been implied that the only respectable or 
worthwhile option available to achieve a successful career is spending 
4 or more years on a campus to earn a college degree. Yet, the more 
than 7 million unfilled jobs in America today suggest workers don't 
have the necessary skills to fill these jobs.
  We need to defy this misconception, invest in skills-based education, 
and fix our Nation's growing skills gap by providing students and job 
seekers with the skills and hands-on experience they need to improve 
their own lives.
  As co-chair of the bipartisan Career and Technical Education Caucus, 
I am proud to push for accessible career and technical education 
alongside my good friend and colleague, Congressman  Jim Langevin.
  Career and technical education, or CTE, goes hand in hand with 
apprenticeships. Equipping learners of all ages with real-world 
experience in fields like STEM, nursing, information technology, cyber 
technology, agriculture, and more can bring us one step closer to 
closing our Nation's skills gap. In the past several years, we have

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seen a rapid expansion in skills-based education like on-the-job 
learning, earn-while-you-learn programs, and apprenticeships.
  Workforce development programs are successful only if they are 
adaptable to the changing needs of employers. The notice of proposed 
rulemaking by the Department of Labor issued this past June recognizes 
this through the proposed establishment of industry-recognized 
apprenticeships programs, or IRAPS. IRAPS cut through the bureaucratic 
red tape to put businesses and employees at the center of the 
conversation.
  The proposed flexibility in the notice of proposed rulemaking will 
allow businesses the ability to quickly meet labor market needs. These 
changes will help foster continued innovation that recognizes the 
dignity of all work and provides another tool for apprentices to move 
into meaningful work in the rapidly evolving 21st century economy.
  We can ensure IRAPS create as many career opportunities as possible 
by encouraging employer innovation and allowing students and families 
the freedom to choose the path that is best for them. That is the power 
of work. That is the power of CTE. And that is the power of 
apprenticeships, putting employers and students in the driver's seat of 
their own professional futures.

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