Virginia Foxx: “This week we celebrate the eighth annual National Apprenticeship Week. It is the perfect time to reflect on what is and…”

“This week we celebrate the eighth annual National Apprenticeship Week. It is the perfect time to reflect on what is and what isn't working in our Nation's workforce development programs. There are more than 10 million unfilled jobs in this country and nearly 6 million unemployed individuals. There is clearly a crack in the education-to-workforce pipeline. The best way to address our country's skills gap and worker shortage is to promote workforce development programs that actually work. I have been encouraged to see many businesses coming up with their own workforce development programs. Time and again, employer-led programs prove to produce the best results. More industries are embracing apprenticeships as a solution for upskilling and re-skilling workers. As employers realize that baccalaureate degrees do not always prepare workers to fill needed roles, more alternative pathways will be needed. Many businesses are already removing unnecessary degree requirements and are, instead, replacing them with apprenticeship programs. This is a great development for our country and our workforce. Americans should not have to take out mountains of crushing student loan debt to study a subject that has nothing to do with their intended career, only to have to start from scratch once they enter the workforce. For too long, the college-for-all mentality has pushed young people into obtaining a baccalaureate degree, regardless of their intended career.…”