[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9482]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         CLOSING THE SKILLS GAP

  The SPEAKER. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from North Carolina 
(Ms. Foxx) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, it is good news that the jobless rate has 
dropped to 4.3 percent, the lowest level in more than a decade. 
However, we still face tough challenges in building an economy that 
supplies employers with the talent needed to be competitive and in 
educating workers with the skills needed for success in today's 
economy.
  Because our economy increasingly requires a more skilled workforce, 
the next generation of workers needs education beyond the traditional 
high school degree to find good-paying jobs that enable them to move up 
the career ladder and firmly into the middle class.
  To solve these challenges, we need a strong demand-driven workforce 
development system that aligns education with the needs of employers. 
That is why the Committee on Education and the Workforce, which I am 
proud to chair, recently advanced, with unanimous support, legislation 
that will strengthen skills-focused education and help equip more 
students with the skills they need to achieve success.
  However, the real solutions lie outside of Washington. That is why I 
am pleased the private sector is leading the way so that workers in 
industries have the skills to compete and prosper in the global 
economy.
  I want to commend companies like JPMorgan Chase, Toyota, IBM, Boeing, 
and so many others for their commitment to creating public-private 
partnerships aimed at closing our skills gap and helping America's 
employers and workers succeed.
  Recently, I had the opportunity to join a roundtable discussion with 
workforce development experts from a wide array of nonprofits, 
educational institutions, and workforce development leaders. They are 
working with employers to build sustainable and robust pipelines of 
talent to fill growing needs in critical sectors, such as healthcare 
and technology.
  Communities across the country are looking to power their businesses 
with talent from their local communities, and they are doing this by 
developing partnerships that focus on employer engagement strategies, 
creating or expanding career pathways, reducing barriers to employment, 
and more effectively connecting students and graduates to jobs.
  Helping people gain the skills they need to compete in the workforce 
is also a powerful approach to expanding access to opportunity and 
promoting economic mobility, because even as the economy improves, 
there are still vulnerable people at risk of being left behind.
  Without the right skills and meaningful postsecondary credentials, 
these young people face entering the workforce without very bright 
prospects or, worse, unemployed and out of school.
  We also need to create more opportunities for workers to obtain good-
paying jobs that require more than a high school diploma but less than 
a college degree. This can help reduce unemployment by aligning 
education programs with the skills employers need.
  As an example, JPMorgan Chase's New Skills for Youth initiative is 
helping expand high-quality education programs that begin in high 
school and end with postsecondary credentials and lead to long-term 
careers. Young people can gain the skills needed to enter high-paying 
occupations in growing fields, such as robotics, medical science, and 
coding, to build a promising future.
  Failing to prepare young people with the right skills and education 
for these jobs is a missed opportunity for them personally, for our 
country, and our economy.
  By working together on educational initiatives like New Skills for 
Youth, employers, nonprofits, and educational institutions can drive 
economic growth, promote greater mobility in communities throughout the 
country, and help more Americans achieve a lifetime of success.

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