NEWS RELEASE: Career Education Bill Wins Unanimous Approval in Key Committee

[Kate Newhall]

Bureau of Labor and Industries
Commissioner Brad Avakian
 
Press Release
For Immediate Distribution
April 1, 2011
CONTACT: Kate Newhall, 503-467-1665
 
Career Education Bill Wins Unanimous Approval in Key Committee 
Bipartisan legislation to strengthen our workforce moves forward in
Salem 
 
SALEM – Bipartisan legislation to revitalize and enhance Career and
Technical Education (CTE) in Oregon’s middle schools and high schools
won unanimous approval in the House Education Committee today.  The vote
comes just one week after a broad coalition of businesses, labor unions,
trade associations, educators, and elected leaders came together in the
State Capitol to emphasize the importance of CTE to Oregon’s economic
future.
 
“The best way to expand economic opportunity tomorrow is to expand
educational opportunity today,” said Bureau of Labor and Industries
Commissioner Brad Avakian.  “Restoring practical career education in our
schools will help prepare more Oregon students for living-wage jobs
while ensuring more Oregon businesses have the highly skilled workers
they need to succeed.”
 
HB 3362, which already has 59 co-sponsors in the Oregon Legislature,
would jump-start the revitalization of CTE in Oregon’s middle schools
and high schools by: (1) establishing a grant program to fund the
restoration and expansion of CTE classes; (2) facilitating the formation
of future skill centers and CTE-focused charters; (3) requiring
inter-agency coordination on CTE issues; and (4) fostering CTE
partnerships between public schools, community colleges, universities,
businesses and unions.
 
“Oregon’s labor movement has long been committed to providing early
training opportunities for the next generation of Oregon workers,” said
John Mohlis, Executive Secretary of the Oregon State Building and
Construction Trades Council.  “This bill will help us expand those
efforts in partnership with the business community and our schools,
enabling us to equip more students with the tools they need to earn
high-wage jobs.”
 
Restoring CTE classes will help address labor shortages and skill gaps
in several industries – such as health care, manufacturing,
construction, renewable energy, and high-tech services – and an enhanced
CTE system will present students with options ranging from traditional
shop classes to cutting-edge training in science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.   
 
“Oregon’s business community is uniquely positioned to help Oregon’s
schools figure out how to target career training so it matches up with
our greatest workforce needs,” said Frank Wall, Executive Director of
the Plumbing and Mechanical Contractors Association.  “This legislation
gives us the opportunity to rebuild our career and technical education
programs in a way that maximizes the benefit for both employers and
employees and provide a brighter future for our students.”
 
The CTE bill now moves to the Joint Ways and Means Committee, where it
is being championed by Vice-Chair Senator Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose). 
“The long-term health of our economy depends on a strong workforce,
and revitalizing vocational training is essential to that goal.  I look
forward to taking up this bill in the Ways and Means Committee, and I am
committed to getting it to the Governor for his signature.”
 
######
 
The mission of the Bureau of Labor and Industries is to protect
employment rights,
advance employment opportunities, and protect access to housing and 
public accommodations free from discrimination.
 
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