Underlying the problem: a misguided emphasis on college-for-all, declining academic performance in public schools, and the short shrift that school districts give to technical training.
Policymakers have long talked about expanding training programs, boosting funding to technical schools, and creating more joint ventures with businesses to train young people.
Reading scores hit an all-time low in the school year that ended June 2023, a sobering reminder of the inadequacies of many public schools and the challenges that their graduates will face in getting training.
To help in that drive, the administration created the National Council of the American Worker, enlisting companies like Walmart, Home Depot, and Lockheed to establish and expand training programs.
In industries like construction, where the unions themselves often run training programs that dictate hiring, organized labor also doesn't have a great track record of expanding job opportunities.
A bipartisan coalition of Democrats and Republicans has introduced a bill, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2023, that would appropriate $400 million in 2025, growing to $800 million in 2029, to finance apprentice and other technical training programs.
The legislation, based on Cotton's contention that federal funding has been "Propping up" colleges, while Americans who don't attend college are "Left behind," would offer various ways to finance training for non-college students, including vouchers.
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