Targeting training to jobs
Targeting training to jobs
Even at times of relatively high unemployment and even in areas as hard-hit as the Mahoning Valley, there are still some companies looking for employees. The problem is not that there aren’t enough willing workers, the problem is that there aren’t enough properly trained workers.
This supply-and-demand situation is nothing new, and it will never end. As the demands of the workplace change, there will always be a need for properly trained prospective employees.
And while there is no one answer to this employment dilemma, U.S. Sen Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-17th, were in Warren last week to talk about their idea for legislation that would help.
What’s in a name
Brown and Ryan were talking about the SECTORS Act. And while it’s a rather tortured acronym for Strengthening Employment Clusters to Organize Regional Success, the concept is a good one.
It would provide grants for sector partnerships among institutions of higher education, industry, organized labor, and workforce boards. They say these partnerships would customize solutions for specific industries at the regional level. A sector approach can focus on the dual goals of promoting the long-term competitiveness of industries and advancing employment opportunities for workers.
Brown has introduced legislation in the Senate; Ryan has done so in the House.
Ryan sees such an approach working well with a goal he has been pursing for some time, making the Mahoning Valley an important link in a high-tech corridor from Cleveland to Pittsburgh.
The legislation would benefit workers, universities, businesses and communities like ours. It should receive bipartisan support in Congress.