Senators Collins, Reed Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen Job Corps, U.S. Shipbuilding Workforce Pipeline

The Job Corps Shipbuilding-Defense Industrial Base Pipeline Act would formalize and bolster partnership between Job Corps, registered apprenticeship programs, and the defense industrial base.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Over the next decade, the maritime industrial base will need an estimated 100,000 skilled workers to build the high-tech ships and submarines our nation requires. To address this challenge and revitalize the nation's defense and maritime industrial bases, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Jack Reed (D-RI) led a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers in introducing the Job Corps Shipbuilding-Defense Industrial Base Pipeline Act to expand workforce training opportunities for American workers. A companion bill was introduced in the House by Representative Joe Courtney (D-CT-02).

The Job Corps Shipbuilding-Defense Industrial Base Pipeline Act would harness the collaboration between the armed services, defense industrial base, and Job Corps and registered apprenticeship programs (RAP) to prepare young workers to contribute to our national defense. It would extend eligibility for the Navy Shipbuilding Workforce Development Special Incentive program to Job Corps and RAPs and would help fund training by making Job Corps centers eligible for grants from the Department of Defense and other sources.

"The Job Corps program has a proven track record of helping young people gain the skills they need to succeed, including in critical trades that support Maine's shipbuilding workforce at Bath Iron Works," said Senator Collins. "This bipartisan bill would strengthen partnerships between Job Corps and our defense sector, giving centers like the Penobscot and Loring Job Corps Centers greater flexibility to align training with workforce needs and prepare students for good-paying careers that are vital to our national security."

"The Job Corps Shipbuilding-Defense Industrial Base Pipeline Act is a smart investment in our workforce, our communities, our national defense, and our future prosperity," said Senator Reed. "Our national security will be strengthened by providing more skilled workers to address critical defense sector needs; young people will get life-changing career opportunities that will put them on a path to economic security and personal success; and the taxpayer will benefit from greater government efficiency in leveraging existing programs to address pressing national priorities. I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this important legislation."

Job Corps and RAPs have a proven track record of preparing young Americans for good-paying careers and offering Americans in their late teens and early twenties job-training, housing, health care, and a path to independence. In order to help these programs more effectively expand their services, this bill would provide Job Corps centers with the flexibility to make staffing and professional development decisions, enter into agreements with local partners, and engage stakeholders, while acting within existing budgets.

Additionally, the Job Corps Shipbuilding-Defense Industrial Base Pipeline Act would provide new avenues for participation in Job Corps and RAPs. The bill would require the Secretary of Defense to ensure military recruits who are ineligible for enlistment be made aware of opportunities to enroll in the Job Corps and registered apprenticeship programs to prepare them for enlistment or to learn skills that are in high demand in the defense industrial base. It would also streamline Job Corps' enrollment for interested servicemembers in pre-separation counseling.

Since 1964, the federal Job Corps program has provided free vocational and career-training for underserved youth to help produce skilled workers for the nation's economy. Job Corps has served more than three million low-income youth and young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 who face barriers to education and employment.

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