House Democrats on Monday released an overview of their priories for the next Congress, and it’s peppered with buzz words to catch the attention of community college advocates, from stackable credentials and pathways, to dual enrollment and Pell grants for incarcerated individuals.
House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer on Monday announced the Democrats’ newly revamped agenda that focuses on skills training, infrastructure and entrepreneurship. The Maryland Democrat noted in his prepared remarks that many schools are already on the right track to fulfilling a shortage of skilled workers by developing career pathways for students to help them explore jobs that require more than a high school diploma but less than a baccalaureate.
“We need to promote pathways to career opportunities and make training and education more affordable and more accessible,” Hoyer said. “We need to encourage entrepreneurship by securing access to workplace benefits like health care and retirement security, and we need to provide stronger tools to allow innovators to grow their ideas into successful businesses.”
Providing stackable credentials — which refers to earned badges or certificates for specific skills — can help not only students focused on certain careers but also incumbent workers who want to upgrade their skills or pursue another career, Hoyer said.
He also emphasized the popular idea of allowing Pell grants to be used for shorter training programs, as well as allowing qualifying inmates to use the grants for training so they have better job opportunities upon their release from prison.
Fostering entrepreneurships is another way to power up the economy, particularly in high tech areas, Hoyer said. Community and corporate leaders are partnering with regional colleges to create incubators to help entrepreneurs start businesses, he said.
During a visit to Pittsburgh as part of a national listening tour, Hoyer said he heard how the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) created an entrepreneurial program that not only teaches skills sought by local employers but also instructs students how to launch their own businesses. CCAC President Quintin Bullock told him of one entrepreneurship program that is “tailored for those re-entering from prison, reinforcing… that criminal justice reform is essential to all of our people being able to make it in America,” he said.
