U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), co-chairs of the Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus, joined U.S. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA) in re-introducing legislation to ensure American workers have the skills they need for infrastructure jobs.
The legislation, the Building U.S. Infrastructure by Leveraging Demands for Skills (BUILDS) Act, would help businesses engage in workforce training programs like apprenticeships while encouraging cooperation between businesses and educational outlets to ensure curricula meets today’s infrastructure labor needs.
“The U.S. infrastructure system is in critical need of updates while at the same time infrastructure industries struggle to meet workforce demands,” said Portman. “With the BUILDS Act, we can improve worker training and provide more resources for job training programs targeted toward in-demand infrastructure-related jobs. This bipartisan bill can help us ensure that we are able to fill jobs in the infrastructure industry quickly and help those struggling with job loss, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, get the skills they need to succeed.”
Specifically, the bill would promote partnerships in the construction, transportation, maritime, and energy sectors made up of businesses, industry organizations, workforce boards, labor representatives, and educational providers to support workforce training programs. The bill would help businesses engage in training programs, support workers in those programs, and train managers and front-line workers to serve as mentors to those workers. Additionally, the bill would provide methods for businesses to recruit individuals to participate in work-based learning while providing those individuals with support services before, during, and after their training to ensure their success.
“As we prepare to tackle critical infrastructure needs nationwide, it’s vital we also support a skilled workforce that can take on this task,” said Kaine. “This bill will help foster strong industry partnerships and career pathways to ensure we can retrain workers for millions of good-paying jobs and also strengthen our economy as we begin to recover from COVID-19.”
The legislation is supported by the Advance CTE: State Leaders Connecting Learning to Work, the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the National Skills Coalition (NSC), Jobs for the Future, the National Taskforce on Tradeswomen’s Issues, and the National League of Cities.