[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14368]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP WEEK

  (Ms. ESTY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in recognition of National 
Apprenticeship Week.
  In conversations with employers in my district at companies like Ward 
Leonard in Thomaston and Forum Plastics in Waterbury, I hear about how 
our businesses struggle to find employees with the right skills.
  Apprenticeship programs give workers the hands-on training they need 
to close that skills gap. In Connecticut, our community colleges are 
helping workers get the skills they need to land high-paying, in-demand 
jobs. But there is more we must do to help both workers and small-
business owners.
  That is why I introduced the TECH Careers Act. This bill will open 
the door for more Americans to have successful careers in 21st-century 
fields and help small businesses access a qualified pool of talented 
and skilled workers. If we close the skills gap and raise folks up into 
the middle class, everyone benefits.

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