An infographic released earlier today revealed the confusing state of the nation’s workforce training system. The House Education and the Workforce Committee is taking action to provide taxpayers, employers, and workers with a more effective workforce development system. The Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills (SKILLS) Act eliminates and streamlines dozens of ineffective and dupl... Read more »
President Obama has said the nation’s workforce development system is a "maze of confusing training programs." But words alone can’t describe how convoluted the system has become – the following infographic reveals the true size of the bureaucracy standing between workers and the skills they need to find a job: In total, the federal government administers more than 50 different programs across nin... Read more »
Chairman Kline will convene a full committee hearing on Wednesday, February 27 at 12:30 p.m. to discuss school safety issues in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. The hearing, entitled “Protecting Students and Teachers: A Discussion on School Safety,” will take place in room 2175 of the Rayburn House Office Building. “The events that took place two months ago in Newtown shocked ... Read more »
Here's a trend you'll be reading more about: part-time "job sharing," not only within firms but across different businesses. It's already happening across the country at fast-food restaurants, as employers try to avoid being punished by the Affordable Care Act. In some cases we've heard about, a local McDonalds has hired employees to operate the cash register or flip burgers for 20 hours a week a... Read more »
Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans, led by Higher Education and Workforce Training Subcommittee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), today released a comprehensive proposal to reform federal job training and employment assistance. The Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills (SKILLS) Act, which will be formally introduced on February 25, streamlines federal programs and cre... Read more »
THE PROBLEM: Roughly 12 million Americans are unemployed and searching for work, yet the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports millions of job openings remain unfilled. One reason for this startling fact is a broken workforce development system. Despite a multi-billion dollar annual taxpayer investment in federal job training programs, employers continue to struggle to find workers with skills neces... Read more »
House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Chairman Phil Roe (R-TN) today released the following joint statement after the National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans (NCCMP) issued a report on multiemployer pension reform: Today’s report is further proof that there is no easy way to address the ... Read more »
The Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, chaired by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), today held a hearing entitled, "Sequestration: Examining Employers’ WARN Act Responsibilities." The hearing examined guidance released in July 2012 by the Department of Labor that states the WARN Act does not apply to sequestration. Members also discussed the department’s failure to fully cooperate with the committee’s ... Read more »
House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) today released the following statement after President Obama spoke in Decatur, Georgia about his new early childhood education proposal: If the president believes this is an important initiative, he owes Congress and the American people answers to some basic questions. Will the plan be duplicative? Countless early childhood ... Read more »
When President Obama called for expanded access to early childhood education during Tuesday’s State of the Union address, House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline warned, “Before we spend more taxpayer dollars on new programs, we must first review what is and is not working in existing initiatives, such as Head Start.” House and Senate Republicans have raised questions ab... Read more »
