Today, Rep. John R. Carter (R-TX-31) voted in support of, and the House passed, the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. This bill will help more Americans enter the workforce with the skills necessary to compete for and succeed in high-wage, high-demand technical careers. The bill ensures career and technical education programs are flexible enough to adapt to the needs of new industries, accountable to ensure every child has a chance to succeed, and robust to provide support for our educators.

“As a proud member of the House Career and Technical Education Caucus, I am committed to ensuring every student has the opportunity to pursue a successful career path by supporting local programs to help prepare students for high-wage, high-demand technical careers,” said Rep. Carter. “Across Texas and our great nation, we have many businesses searching for qualified talent within the trades. Despite this, today’s college graduates are increasingly facing a future of unemployment, declining wages, and mounds of student loan debt. This is a direct reflection of the skills gap that exists between the American workforce and the needs of many employers. Incentivizing people to pursue a career in the trades will help bridge this gap. We are fortunate in Central Texas to have low unemployment and a strong economy, and we must continue to encourage students to pursue careers in the highly skilled trades. I have confidence Texans will continue to lead the way in growing our economy, and Career and Technical Education is a key to our nation’seconomic prosperity.”

Rep. Carter recently hosted a round table discussion in Central Texas that brought together more than 30 educators, local business owners, and state policymakers to brainstorm ways to ensure students have the skill sets needed to meet employers’ demand. During the discussion, businesses mentioned the need to create industry relationships and communicate with educators to pinpoint the most in-demand skill sets.  Educators echoed the need to foster relationships with local businesses, and added that counselors need more flexibility to inform students of the career opportunities in the trades industry.

More information on Rep. Carter’s recent roundtable on CTE, can be found here.

Read Rep. Carter’s recent OpEd on Career and Technical Education here.

More information about the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act can be found here.

Rep. Carter represents Texas District 31, which includes Fort Hood, one of the largest military installations in the free world. He serves as Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, co-chairman of the House Army Caucus, is on the Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice and Science and the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

###