Frank Lautenberg: “I rise in support of S. 1361, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. I am a cosponsor of this legislation and am pleased…”

“I rise in support of S. 1361, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. I am a cosponsor of this legislation and am pleased that the Senate is poised to pass it. Mr. President, our modern economy is rapidly changing. Today's American worker must compete against workers all over the world as well as embrace modern technology in the workplace. Despite these changes, our educational system is primarily focused on a traditional career path. We have several programs for students who go onto college. However, 75 percent of all high school graduates do not complete an undergraduate degree and 50 percent never take a post high-school class. We need to equip these millions of non-college-bound students with basic academic and occupational skills necessary in an increasingly complex labor market. In the 1980's, the earnings gap between high school and college graduates doubled. At the same time, employers have expressed increasing frustration with the quality of job skills possessed by high school graduates. These trends tell us that we need to develop a new system to educate and train those who do not go on to college. We must prepare them for the competitive workplace of the 21st century. This is what the School-to-Work Opportunities Act seeks to do--to provide educational and job training opportunity for those who are left out of our current system.”