Donovan, House Pass Bill to Help Train Americans for Modern Manufacturing And Energy Jobs

Press Release

Congressman Dan Donovan (NY-11) and the U.S. House of Representatives last night voted to pass H.R 338, legislation to build a stronger 21st century manufacturing and energy workforce. This bill prioritizes Department of Energy grant programs on education and training for manufacturing and energy-related jobs. It passed unanimously by voice vote.

Congressman Donovan said, "We can't go back in time to fix what happened to American industry. But we can help prepare our workers now for the jobs of the future to ensure that we're competitive. The bill I voted to support last night capitalizes on the ingenuity of American workers by delivering the education and training programs they need to adapt to the 21st century economy."

To increase the number of skilled workers for the 21st century economy, the bill directs the Secretary of Energy to:

encourage schools to equip students with technical skills and expertise;
establish a database with information on training and workforce development programs;
increase outreach to minority, displaced, and unemployed energy and manufacturing workers; and
enhance collaboration between school, workforce training organizations and federal agencies.
According to the Manufacturing Institute, approximately 3.4 million manufacturing jobs will become available over the next decade, but the skills gap could result in 2 million of those jobs going unfilled. Additionally, a recent Department of Energy jobs report found that the U.S. doesn't have enough skilled workers to fill the approximately 1.5 million new energy jobs -- which includes opportunities in the renewable and traditional energy sectors -- by 2030.

This bill will now go to the Senate for consideration.

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