Building on The New England Council’s long history of support for apprenticeships and other experiential learning opportunities as a means to ensure a strong talent pipeline in the region, the Council is proud to endorse the CHANCE in TECH (Championing Apprenticeships for New Careers and Employees in Technology) Act (H.R. 3174). This bipartisan legislation was introduced by Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA) in July 2017 and seeks to seeks to address the growing skills gap in the technology sector through expanding and investing in technology apprenticeship programs. On September 15, 2017, The New England Council sent a letter to all members of the New England House delegation urging them to support this commonsense legislation.
This legislation would create public-private partnerships to serve as intermediaries between employers participating in registered apprenticeship programs, industry and training partners, and government entities. Under this proposal, each intermediary would be responsible for assessing and training potential apprentices, minimizing the burden on participating employers by tracking success indicators and managing other reporting requirements.
The New England Council believes that this legislation will help to better align workforce training with local and regional demands, and that many of our members would welcome the opportunity to participate in such apprenticeship programs. In 2016 alone, the technology sector contributed more than $1 trillion to the U.S. economy, employed more than seven million workers, and added more than 100,000 new jobs. Yet at the same time, more than 500,000 tech jobs are unfilled during any given 90-day period. To best prepare the future workforce to fill these openings, we must provide students with not just classroom education, but hands-on, real world experience. If passed, the CHANCE in TECH Act would do just that.
If you have questions about this bill or about the Council’s ongoing efforts to support initiatives to close the skills gap, please contact Emily Heisig or Taylor Pichette.
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