Bill Passed to Help Students Realize Career in Trades

The House of Representatives passed a bill recently that should please maintenance and engineering managers in institutional and commercial facilities and hopefully pave the way for more students to enter a career in the trades.

The Perkins Career and Technical Education Act was approved by a 405-5 vote on Sept. 13, and will affect more than 11 million students and provide federal funding to state and local career and technical education programs. The law was instituted 10 years ago but was never updated, according to an article by the Society for Human Resource Management.

Finding younger technicians to fill maintenance positions is a challenge at many facilities across the country, as the work force is suffering heavy losses to retirements.

“We need to shift our perspective away from the idea that every student must attend a four-year program to succeed,” says Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina. “Educational success is … about preparing students for a satisfying life and teaching them the quantifiable skills that employers need in their employees.”

The bill now moves on to the Senate.

For more on the issues managers face finding quality candidates, click on our 2015 Roundtable that features managers from higher education, a K-12 school district, and a healthcare facility.

This quick read was submitted by Dave Lubach, associate editor for Facility Maintenance Decisions. Reach him at dave.lubach@tradepress.com.

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