Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA), alongside Representative Josh Harder (D-CA), announced new legislation to scale up local workforce development programs and kickstart a national job training model.
What does this bill do specifically? The Better Jobs through Evidence and Innovation Act is designed to unlock federal funding to expand programs that help vulnerable youth build skills and get hired at local businesses.
The bill is also supposed to facilitate the development of a national workforce development model based on proven local strategies.
What key figures had to say:
- Rep. Lucy McBath: “I’m proud to lead the Better Jobs Through Evidence and Innovation Act alongside my colleagues, because there is more than one path to a successful career. Consider the single parent looking for a more targeted training program to move into a stable, well-paying job. This legislation will modernize our workforce development pipeline, directing resources where they will have the greatest impact and supporting folks from every background chasing every kind of career.”
- Rep. Josh Harder: “Finding a good-paying job to support a family on has gotten way too hard, but Valley organizations have already proven that evidence-based training can bridge that gap. What we need now is for the federal government to supercharge these efforts and make sure that the next generation has the training to develop skills, get hired in high-demand jobs, and achieve lifelong career success. My bill takes what’s working in the Valley and jumpstarts efforts to build a national model around these local workforce successes.”
Further Context: The bill includes three tiers of funding to support the development and expansion of evidence-based employment and training programs that generate demonstrated, long-term economic improvements for jobseekers and employers.
The bill will go further by cutting red tape and making it easier for workforce development programs to scale nationally without navigating the eligibility requirements of more than one hundred local workforce development boards.
Finally, the bill puts funding in the hands of local programs to identify innovative, cutting-edge practices to ensure 21st-century workers have access to sustainable, high-demand, and high-wage careers.
