Middle schools and high schools need to do a better job of exposing students to career and technical education (CTE) as employers scramble to find enough skilled workers to fill available jobs, according to speakers Wednesday at a House hearing on apprenticeships.
There are currently about 6 million open jobs across the country, but employers can’t find enough skilled workers to fill them, which can affect not only their businesses but the economy as well, Brett Guthrie (R-Kentucky), chair of the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee, said at the opening of the hearing. A recent ManpowerGroup survey found that 46 percent of U.S. employers report that they are struggling to find workers with the necessary skills, and for the sixth straight year skilled trade jobs are the hardest position to fill, he added.
While much of the discussion at the hearing focused on how apprenticeships and other work-based education experiences can help develop sought-after skilled workers, several speakers and members of the subcommittee said it’s not enough. To fill the workforce gap as skilled baby boomers retire, middle and high school students need to better understand what CTE jobs are available and the education the positions require, they said.
That’s the responsibility of both schools and employers, said Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pennsylvania). He recalled an employer in his district that complained to him that it couldn’t find enough workers, yet the company never reached out to a high school two blocks away to partner with to potentially develop a talent pipeline, he said.
Starting earlier
BJ Dernbach, assistant deputy secretary for workforce development in Wisconsin, highlighted before the subcommittee the state’s youth apprenticeship program, which last year connected 4,225 high school-age apprentices with 3,021 employers in the state. The program is launching a pilot to expand the model to middle school through 10th grade, and will include career awareness, job shadows, academic and career planning and possible internships to show viable career paths.
Dernbach added that teachers and school guidance counselors are providing local labor market data that feature local “hot jobs” and what skills are needed. The schools then connect with local employers to develop ways to show students various local CTE careers.
Carol Reynolds, founder of United Industrial Services, a small, electrical contracting business in Louisville, Kentucky, told the panel that she attends career fairs at local high schools to find potential employees, but most graduating seniors still don’t have the necessary skills.
“They can’t read a code book,” she said.
Members of the subcommittee noted efforts in their states to reach into middle schools to expose students to CTE careers. Rep. Blunt Rochester (D-Delaware) cited a new two-day career fair this month for youth and adults to explore careers in construction that is sponsored by the governor’s office. Other lawmakers cited the annual National Manufacturing Day on October 5 as a way to partner business and industry, community and technical colleges, K-12 systems and other stakeholders to highlight potential manufacturing jobs to families.
Programs such as pre-apprenticeships can also help adults who aren’t ready to serve as apprentices because they don’t have the basic work or academic skills, said Mark Kessenich, president of the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership, which serves as an intermediary. This serves groups such as women, minorities, people with disabilities and inmates who will soon be released — populations that have not historically participated in apprenticeships. Such pre-apprenticeship programs take an average of nine months to complete and focus on services such as tutoring to help prepare individuals to take required assessments for apprenticeships, he said.
