Smith, Craig Introduce Bills to Boost Workforce Participation Training, Career Exploration in Schools

(KNSI) – Two Minnesota legislators have introduced companion bills that aim to expand workforce training in high schools, technical colleges and community colleges. Sen. Tina Smith and Rep. Angie Craig have introduced the 21st Century Workforce Partnerships Act in both chambers of Congress.

The 21st Century Workforce Partnerships Act of 2021 proposes the creation of a grant program that schools can use to fund partnership programs with local manufacturing, IT, agriculture and health care businesses.

“Many school districts around Minnesota are working to develop these career academies and other ways to expose students to opportunities in manufacturing and construction and health care,” Smith said. “When this bill passes — and we’re going to work really hard to get it passed — is that we would support those efforts and help to expand them. Communities that don’t have them yet, you’d see in high schools opportunities for students to participate in registered apprenticeship programs and get some on-the-job training and also paid internships.”

Smith says workforce partnerships between schools and local businesses address two issues at once: Trade businesses face a shortage of trained workers, and high schoolers might not know that those career paths are an option. It also aims to dispel assumptions that students and parents might have about those career fields.

“People who don’t know a lot about manufacturing may picture kind of a dirty and maybe even unhealthy plant floor where they don’t see that as a great place to work,” Smith said. “They just don’t understand how much manufacturing has changed and how high-tech it is, how we need to have training and computers and IT.”

The grant program would also open up opportunities for adults who have been out of high school for a while.

“This would create an opportunity for them if they want to return to that local community college, career/technical school in their community, they could be able to take advantage of some of this training and get on a track that really fits with their interests and what they want to do.”

___