Bill Text: NJ SR124 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges Congress to pass the "PATH Act," expanding pre-apprenticeship programs for underrepresented populations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-01-24 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Labor Committee [SR124 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-SR124-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Urges Congress to pass the "PATH Act," expanding pre-apprenticeship programs for underrepresented populations.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Senate Resolution urging Congress to pass the "PATH Act," which expands pre-apprenticeship programs for underrepresented populations.
Whereas, On September 13, 2018, New Jersey Congressman Donald Norcross and West Virginia Congressman David McKinley introduced H.R.6820, the "Pre-Apprenticeships To Hardhats Act," or the "PATH Act;" and
Whereas, The "PATH Act" provides grants to assist in the creation and sustenance of building trade pre-apprenticeship programs that serve many types of underrepresented groups, including racial minorities, women, long-term unemployed individuals, and people from impoverished census tracts; and
Whereas, Pre-apprenticeship programs are dedicated to providing high school students with opportunities to learn about, and develop the skills to succeed in, building trade apprenticeships; and
Whereas, Pre-apprenticeship programs help students meet the requirements to apply for apprenticeships, while also providing students with the tools and skills they will need to succeed in an apprenticeship, including literacy, math, and work-readiness and industry-specific skills; and
Whereas, Pre-apprenticeship programs often collaborate with local employers and labor markets to offer students a direct path to local employment in the building trades; and
Whereas, Certain populations are underrepresented in the building trades, but pre-apprenticeship programs can help increase diversity in the building trades by recruiting from underrepresented populations and developing well-qualified candidates for apprenticeships, making the workforce both larger and more diverse; and
Whereas, Apprenticeships in the building trades are often stigmatized compared to four-year degree programs, but the expansion of pre-apprenticeship programs through the "PATH Act" can help to destigmatize these programs by recruiting more students and educating them about the benefits of apprenticeships; and
Whereas, Research has shown that pre-apprenticeship programs are associated with a number of benefits for employers, including lower hiring costs, reductions in turnover rates for employees in pre-employment training programs, and increases in retention and apprenticeship completion rates; and
Whereas, According to researchers, gender and racial and ethnic diversity in the workplace is associated with greater economic success for employers; and
Whereas, It is in the best interest of the citizens and residents of this State for this House to promote the growth and diversification of building trade pre-apprenticeships by urging Congress to pass the "PATH Act;" now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House respectfully urges Congress to pass the "PATH Act," which expands pre-apprenticeship programs for underrepresented populations.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, and to each member of Congress elected from this State.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges Congress to pass the "PATH Act," which expands pre-apprenticeship programs for underrepresented populations.
On September 13, 2018, New Jersey Congressman Donald Norcross and West Virginia Congressman David McKinley introduced H.R.6820, the "Pre-Apprenticeships To Hardhats Act," or the "PATH Act." Pre-apprenticeship programs help teach students about the benefits of apprenticeships in the building trades and provide students with the skills needed to be accepted into apprenticeships and, later, to succeed in their chosen building trade.
Apprenticeships are often stigmatized in comparison to four-year degree programs; however they offer a path to employment and economic security. Growing pre-apprenticeship programs will help destigmatize apprenticeships and will offer more people the opportunity to enter into a useful employment sector.
As with many industries in the United States, apprenticeships and the building trades could benefit from a more diverse workforce. Pre-apprenticeship programs and employee diversity are both associated with better outcomes for employers. Pre-apprenticeships, especially those that emphasize the recruitment of underrepresented populations, such as those expanded by the "PATH Act," offer a way to develop a workforce in both apprenticeships and the building trades that is larger and more diverse than it is now. Developing a more diverse workforce through pre-apprenticeships is in the best interest of the citizens and residents of the State of New Jersey.
