[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 183 (Friday, November 15, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8884-H8885]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  0915
         APPRENTICESHIPS CAN HELP CLOSE THE SKILLED TRADES GAP

  (Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. Speaker, it is National 
Apprenticeship Week.
  We have 7 million unfilled jobs in this country, and many of them are 
in the skilled trades. We have got to close

[[Page H8885]]

that gap, and I think apprenticeships can help. There are companies 
like Midwestern Mechanical in Sioux Falls who understand that and have 
created their own in-house apprenticeship programs.
  Their apprentices get free classes while they work 40 hours a week in 
their field. They earn while they learn. Unlike many college students, 
they finish their program with a license, with a skill, with a job, and 
without college debt.
  Now, as we look forward to how do we grow this economy and how do we 
do a better job, we have to understand that, yes, 4-year degrees are 
important, but they are not the only way to close that skill gap.
  I think that in-house apprenticeships like those at Midwestern 
Mechanical show us an important way forward.

                          ____________________