IFPTE Tells Senate Committee to Support Dept. Of Labor’s STEM and High-Skill Workforce Development Grants
As the Senate considers reauthorizing federal workforce development authorities and works on drafting the next version of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, IFPTE sent a letter to Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee leadership to request the Committee ensure employer fees from the H-1B visa program continue to support the Department of Labor’s (DOL) H-1B Skills Training Grants for domestic recruitment in STEM and STEM-related occupations.
Currently, Congress is considering redirecting these funds away from DOL grants toward state individual training account (ITA) vouchers. This would effectively put an end to DOL’s high-road “partnership-based approach for these grants that encourages labor unions, employers, community-based nonprofits, educators, community colleges and universities, workforce development entities and job centers, and other state and local government agencies to collaboratively develop training strategies that provide opportunities for Americans from underserved communities across the nation.”
IFPTE’s message to the HELP Committee explains that, in 1998, “Congress added a fee paid by the employers for each H-1B visa they petition for to fund workforce and education strategies that give students and workers in the U.S. the training needed for skilled high-growth and in-demand jobs in H-1B occupations.” The link between employers hiring workers from other countries through the H-1B visa – which IFPTE and labor unions continue to call for reform -- and funding for training for Americans to pursue “careers in critical sectors and industries where demand for workers with specialized skills is expected to grow and grow rapidly.”
At a time when the federal government is investing in manufacturing, infrastructure, energy, and critical supply chains, “diverting H-1B visa funds away from DOL would be a setback for establishing new STEM workforce approaches that workers, students, educators, employers, and policymakers are counting on. DOL is undertaking rulemaking on registered apprenticeships that includes a career and technical education (CTE) apprenticeship model for STEM.”