Dive Brief:
- Reauthorization of a funding and oversight act that could support career and technical education throughout the country is on hold in the U.S. Senate, according to a report from Campus Technology.
- The Perkins Act — revised by the House of Representatives to increase funding for technical training in rural areas and to simply application for funds, sets new performance metrics for workforce development programs, and limits the Department of Education's reach in interpreting and affirming the metrics — has been sent back to committee in the U.S. Senate twice.
- Legislators say the bill would help to align training opportunities with modern workforce needs in critical and emerging industries.
Dive Insight:
Overwhelmingly, employers are saying that too many workers are coming into the marketplace without the necessary skills to hold positions or to innovate within them. This disparity in training puts more of an emphasis on students to receive multi-layered training in community or four-year institutions to earn skills in partnership with key corporate partners in proximate industries, while still receiving the liberal arts foundation which helps in training future managers and CEOs within these industries.
But, if legislation must die over the levels of control assigned to the Secretary of Education, which could in a few months reshape the entire function of the proposed law, then it is best to try again with a new Congress which can offer a better approach to what could be transformational funding for a critical area of higher education.