U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) on Feb. 26 sought suggestions from state and local officials in his home state for how to reduce the shortage of qualified applicants seeking employment at small companies around the United States.
“Even in this time of economic growth, many small businesses across numerous industries are struggling to find qualified workers,” Rep. Fitzpatrick said during a bipartisan House Small Business Committee field hearing held in Newportville, Pa., at the Boilermakers Local Lodge No. 13.
The so-called skills gap disproportionately affects small businesses and skilled trades, according to the House Small Business Committee, and “if left unaddressed, this skills gap will not only impact businesses and workers but lead to significant economic spillovers throughout the nation,” said Fitzpatrick, a committee member who chaired the hearing. U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA), also a member of the House committee, joined Fitzpatrick at the event.
The committee’s field hearing convened labor, business and education stakeholders to consider how federal programs aid or impede workforce development initiatives that are intended to support small businesses and local trade unions. Fitzpatrick said the hearing was “the first step in understanding the causes of the skills gap and finding areas for potential improvement within our existing workforce development programs in all sectors.”
“Students must be prepared for careers or further education and workers must be able to adapt and continually acquire the training and skills required in the modern workplace,” said witness Alex Halper, director of government affairs for the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry. “Unfortunately, feedback from PA chamber members and employers around the Commonwealth has made it clear we are falling short of these goals.”
One hearing witness suggested that apprenticeships provide a bright path to the future. Susan Herring, interim executive director of the Bucks County Community College Center for Workforce Development, said the college’s pre-apprenticeship programs have been “life-transforming opportunities” for students facing employment barriers tied to personal challenges, such as addiction, homelessness, incarceration, single parenthood, and disability.
Herring also pointed out that the success of workforce development programs “begins and ends with the symbiotic relationship we have built with the manufacturing business community,” which she said assists in myriad ways, including “developing and refining the curriculum, vetting training candidates, offering company tours, and hiring our graduates.”
Rep. Fitzpatrick is a strong congressional supporter of apprenticeship programs. For example, among several pieces of proposed legislation he supports this congressional term, Fitzpatrick is one of four original cosponsors of the bipartisan Apprenticeship and Jobs Training Act of 2017, H.R. 3707, introduced on Sept. 7, 2017, by U.S. Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA).
The bill would amend tax law to allow employers to take a business-related tax credit of up to $5,000 for training a qualified person in a qualified apprenticeship program or a multi-employer apprenticeship program recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor, according to the congressional record summary. H.R. 3707 is awaiting consideration by the House Committees on Ways and Means, and Education and the Workforce.