Investing in the Future of Work
Future of Workforce Initiative White Paper
Technological innovation can disrupt the economy and is already changing the nature of the U.S. workforce. To take advantage of technological innovation, Congress must increase investment in skills, education and access to work. These investments will benefit U.S. workers and foster the competitiveness of the future workforce.
In Washington state, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education starts early. Elementary schools such as Emerson Elementary in Everett introduce students to STEM through initiatives such as the FIRST LEGO League Competition. Early exposure to STEM in school inspired the Gladiator Gourd Girls, an all-female team of 13-year-olds, to build a trebuchet to compete in the City of Burlington’s annual Pumpkin Pitch Competition. For the past two years, I have visited the team and watched as they test and improve their pumpkin trebuchet design.
High schools in the Second District are taking innovative approaches to integrating Career and Technical Education (CTE) and apprenticeships into curriculum. Stanwood High School’s mission is for students to leave the CTE programs with marketable skills and qualifications to help them land in-demand careers. Lakewood High School has upgraded several classrooms to specifically focus on STEM courses with equipment for drafting, design, machining and 3D printing.
Community colleges in the Second District have been adapting their courses in response to industry needs. Skagit Valley College’s Northwest Marine Center of Excellence offers a Marine Maintenance Technology pathway preparing students for careers in marine mechanics and electrical systems. Everett Community College’s Corporate and Continuing Education Center offers training for current employees who may need extra training and certification to take over jobs which will be vacated in the future due to increased retirements. Whatcom Community College in Bellingham has emerged as a hub for cybersecurity education and in conjunction with CyberWatch West, leads the expansion of cybersecurity education nationwide.
Public-private STEM partnerships are growing across the Second District. Western Washington University (WWU), Bellingham Technical College and the City of Bellingham partner with local businesses to help students access manufacturing equipment at the Bellingham Technology Development Center, which includes a community Makerspace. Further south, the Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee partners with local companies in the region, including several I have visited in Everett, Marysville, Arlington and Anacortes to offer apprenticeships in STEM fields to local students.
Congress must act and help foster the evolution and growth of the U.S. workforce. The future of the U.S. workforce needs further federal investment in skills training, science and robotics, cybersecurity and renewable energy. This white paper will explore these four areas as well as what is already being done in the Second District to prepare the U.S. workforce to be internationally competitive.
1. The U.S. workforce is part of a global workforce
U.S. workers are no longer competing amongst themselves. The interconnected global economy means U.S. workers are competing with workers around the world to develop and produce the best products and services at the best value.
Ignoring this reality, and retreating into isolationism, is defeatist and ignorant of the capabilities of the American worker.
Recommendations
· Pass the Youth Access to Jobs Act.
· Pass the Online Job Training Act.
· Increase funding for the Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship program to cover the cost of community college, technical school and high school hardware and software acquisition and curriculum development.
· States should encourage high schools to work with higher education institutions to count Advanced Industrial Arts classes as college credit.
· States should establish taskforces comprised of local government, business, labor, nonprofit organizations and education stakeholders to create a long-term plan to determine how to better align education programs with in-demand industry needs.
I introduced the Youth Access to American Jobs Act to create a pilot program with a 2–2–2 pathway spanning the period from the junior year of high school, through two years of community college, to the first two years of specialized workforce training. The new pathway program will help students gain skills directly related to in-demand jobs in high-growth industry fields. It also emphasizes STEM and STEM-focused CTE programs to keep students engaged throughout their learning process and give them an advantage in the global workforce.
Career connected learning is important at the K-12 and community college level. Federal funding should encourage collaboration between secondary and postsecondary institutions to reduce inequity in education for under-served populations around Washington state and the nation. Schools should offer college credits to high school students for hands on skills learned in advanced industrial arts or shop class in the same way they do for AP classes.
Washington state promotes STEM and apprenticeships through the Career Connect Washington Task Force with the goal of connecting 100,000 young Washingtonians with career-connected learning opportunities to prepare them for high-demand, high wage jobs. Many of the career-connected or apprenticeship programs are overseen by the Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship. These registered apprenticeships provide a wide array of benefits including a competitive wage and industry issued, nationally recognized credentials. The federal government should continue investing in the Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship program to expand these types of initiatives throughout the U.S. in order cover the cost of community college, technical school and high school hardware and software acquisition and curriculum development.
On-the-job learning and education help students gain valuable workforce skills and helps industry use the training to increase their output and the economic value of the company. Washington state has expanded registered apprenticeship programs such as the Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee youth program, which combines traditional learning with 2,000 hours of paid, on the job apprenticeship training and college-level instruction high school students can put toward a diploma and journey-level accreditation. In 2017, the state awarded $6.4 million in federal grants to career-connected learning initiatives to create 29,000 new career-connected learning programs through 2019. These initiatives include STEM classes, job shadowing, career planning and new internships and apprenticeships.
Congress should invest in programs to account for changes in the workforce.
Successful U.S. companies can adapt and respond to emerging industry needs. Starbucks coffee, a Washington state company, opened its first coffee shop in 1971. Today Starbucks is has become one of the most admired companies in the world by investing in their workers and changing to respond to customer demand. Continual reinvention allows industry to grow and create jobs that propel the United States towards global competitiveness.
All sectors of the U.S. economy must be able to respond to changes in the market and fund initiatives to teach workers how to succeed in new, ever changing environments. This can be done through a push for better training and incentives for teachers to effectively share these new skills with students. Congress should increase CTE funding so schools are better able to respond to changing industry needs. Increased funding will lead to more training opportunities and on-the-job experience. For instance, in Washington state, Boeing invested $6 million in grants to more than 50 nonprofits and educational institutions in 2016. Boeing also partners with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) to provide training and work-based learning (e.g. apprenticeships) to students in the Pacific Northwest beginning their junior year of high school. In 2015, Boeing hired more than 150 Washington high school students from partner high schools.
There also needs to be more of an effort to retrain Americans who have lost their jobs due to changes in the market. Investments in people and services are necessary. I am working to reintroduce the Online Job Training Act to fill the gap in training opportunities. The Online Job Training Act would amend the Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act by adding an online workforce training grant program. The Online Job Training Act complements additional workforce training and allows individuals who may not otherwise re-enter the workforce to get the ball rolling and continue contributing to the U.S. economy. At the same time, this legislation would help individuals further their digital knowledge in an age where more and more jobs require computer skills and technical knowledge.
2. Americans should not fear advanced science and robotics.
Too often, members of Congress hear dire predictions about automation and the role robots will play in killing jobs in the workplace. I am not one of those “doom-and-gloomers” who believes Americans should fear automation.
Recommendations
· Large research universities should expand robotics partnerships with local high schools, colleges and universities and issue grants to expand access to robotics.
· Appropriate funding through the Navy and the NSF to expand the Robotarium concept to other universities and educational institutions, in order to expand access to autonomous systems.
· Prioritize and improve access to advanced robotics, including asking for a report from the Department of Education on access to computer science classes for K-12 students.
· Request NSF to provide data on the agency’s support for K-12 computer science education, for computer science summer camps and for K-12 national competition in computer science and other scientific fields.
· Expand Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), which encourages domestic small businesses to engage in federal research and development that has potential for commercialization.
Investing in AI will create jobs
Right now, parents fear that in ten years or less, their children will not be able to find a job because of increased automation in the workplace. While this concern is valid, other trends are shaping the marketplace as well. The truth is, even with an increase in sophistication in technology and automation, industries will continue to generate new jobs. Some companies in the U.S. have already shown the ability to supplement workers with artificial intelligence (AI) technology and develop new jobs that require essential human skills. This way, the people who work in conjunction with robots can get more training, leading to better jobs and higher wages.
Congress should increase investment in innovative initiatives
Existing programs should be expanded or replicated in other parts of the country. The Manufacturing USA initiative, run through the Department of Commerce, assists 14 private-public institutes across the country to jumpstart manufacturing in a variety of industries. The Advanced Robotics Manufacturing (ARM) Innovation Hub in Pittsburgh, PA is solely devoted to the research and development of the U.S. robotics community.
Anacortes High School For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics chapter started with 15 participants in 2009 and has grown to over 200 participants in 2018. The FIRST Robotics Competition is a global initiative to inspire high school students to pursue careers in STEM. Through the competition, high school students work with professional engineer mentors, gain first-hand STEM skills and learn how to use sophisticated software and hardware. Anacortes High School’s Cyborg Ferrets team has competed nationally and won several awards for engineering, design, imagery and safety. FIRST Robotics also offers LEGO League Jr. for students ages six through ten, FIRST LEGO League Challenge for students grades four to eight and the FIRST Tech Challenge for students grades seven through 12. In 2017, Emerson Elementary School enrolled its fourth and fifth graders in the FIRST LEGO League Challenge Regional Qualifier where they placed ninth out of 20 teams.
The Robotarium project, developed at Georgia Tech, with funding from the Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation is a hub of innovation and allows researchers with access to the internet to use their robot swarm program. Congress should appropriate funding to help connected programs expand to other schools across the country so young people can learn about robotics even if they live far from research centers.
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International projects by 2025, the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) industry will create more than 100,000 new jobs in the U.S. and have an economic impact of more than $80 billion. The safe and efficient integration of UAS into the National Airspace System is an emerging priority. The FAA anticipates more than 451,000 small, commercial drones in the sky by 2022.
The long-term, five-year Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill, signed into law on October 11, included my initiative to create a Youth Access to American Jobs in Aviation Task Force at the FAA. The task force will convene aviation trade schools and community college, airline carriers, industry, labor unions and other relevant stakeholders to develop recommendations on expanding access to STEM-based apprenticeships.
Last October, the administration announced a three-year UAS Integration Pilot Program (UAS IPP) to test and validate advanced UAS operations and technologies outside of current restrictions. This program will help inform the development of federal guidelines and regulations for UAS operations. It is my hope Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will be a beneficiary of this program soon.
3. An increase of technology means more of our lives are connected to the internet.
This technology extends from simple communications, to employee records, to transit efficiency, to ordering groceries, to national security.
Recommendations
· Pass the Cyber Security Workforce Act.
· Continue funding the CyberCorps: Scholarships for Service program.
· Increase investment in NSA’s GenCyber program to increase children’s exposure to cybersecurity at an earlier age.
· Appropriate funding for state and local efforts to strengthen the cybersecurity of the transportation systems and critical infrastructure.
· Appropriate funds for NSF to help colleges build capacity to increase number of graduates ready for the workforce.
· Appropriate funds for NSA Cybersecurity National Research Centers (CNRC) and National Centers of Academic Excellence Regional Resource Centers (CRRC) to build a nationwide infrastructure to bring together all academic institutions involved in cybersecurity.
· States and local communities should encourage the creation of cybersecurity partnerships between community colleges, four-year colleges and universities and industry/government.
The increased dependency on the internet makes it imperative for Congress and the administration to establish best security practices and implement a comprehensive and strategic framework to address cybersecurity risks to our country. The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity Workforce Framework at the U.S. Department of Commerce National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) is currently doing this work. NICE is a partnership between government, academia and private sector focused on cybersecurity education, training and workforce development.
Since technology is ever-evolving, cybersecurity education must start at an early level. It must also be continually researched and expanded on to keep up globally. To support these efforts, last Congress I cosponsored the Cyber Ready Workforce Act to create a Department of Labor grant program to support the creation, implementation and expansion of cybersecurity registered apprenticeships. I plan to support this bill once it is reintroduced in the 116th Congress.
The president’s proposed infrastructure plan encourages states to “incorporate new and evolving technologies” into their proposals. However, there is no requirement to evaluate the cybersecurity of those new technologies. Recently, the Department of Energy announced a $25 million funding opportunity to support energy sector cybersecurity. Under this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability’s Cybersecurity for Energy Delivery Systems program will seek proposals on the research, development and demonstration of innovative advances on cyber-resilient energy infrastructure.
As one of the centers of technological innovation in the U.S., Washington state has made strides to integrate cybersecurity into its infrastructure. In 2015 the state launched the Washington State Office of Cybersecurity in response to threats to individual privacy and infrastructure stability. In conjunction with the Office of Privacy and Data Protection, the Office of Cybersecurity is responsible for coordinating a statewide approach to responding to cybersecurity threats to the state’s economy. Every year Washington state also holds a Cybersecurity Summit where industry leaders and policymakers come together to discuss cybersecurity threats and lessons learned nationally and within Washington state.
In the past few years, community colleges have proven to be leaders in cybertechnology. Whatcom Community College (WCC) in Washington’s Second District is one example of how academic institutions in the U.S. engage students in STEM to excel in the cybersecurity field. As a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance, WCC leads the expansion of cybersecurity education nationwide. WCC works with CyberWatch West to improve existing cybersecurity resources to develop effective training and teaching modules to raise awareness and build partnerships among academia and industry.
On the federal level, the National Security Agency and National Science Foundation (NSF) are working to increase capacity and get more people interested in a career in cybersecurity at a young age. NSA’s GenCyber camps provide students and teachers at the K-12 level with summer cybersecurity opportunities. This program seeks to increase interest in cybersecurity careers and diversity in the cybersecurity workforce. WCC holds two high school GenCyber Camps and one middle school GenCyber Camp. The CyberCorps: Scholarships for Service is offered through the NSF in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security and provides funding to award scholarships to students in cybersecurity. Upon graduation, recipients must work for a federal, state, local or tribal government organization in a position related to cybersecurity for the same time as the length of the scholarship.
4. The U.S. is not preparing a workforce for renewable energy.
Wind, solar, tidal and other renewable energy technologies are rapidly growing worldwide. According to the International Energy Agency, the net additions of solar, wind and renewables were 252 combined gigawatts in 2016, which far exceeded that of coal and gas at 86 combined gigawatts.
Recommendations
· Increase funding for the Department of Energy Office of Science to support basic energy research and research into the next generation of energy sources.
· Pass the GREEN Act to support renewable energy programs in colleges and four-year universities.
· Ensure robust funding for the Department of Energy Clean Cities Coalition program to support education, technical expertise and assistance to invest in local, sustainable transportation solutions.
· Increase appropriations for agency programs designed to help American renewable energy companies increase exports and do business abroad.
Rather than resisting the global trend towards renewable energy, the U.S. should provide its workforce with the skills and experience they need to achieve global leadership in the renewable energy field. As of now, China is the renewable growth leader, projected to grow by 464 gigawatts from 2017 to 2022. The U.S., which has the second largest renewable capacity growth in the world, is projected to grow by 144 gigawatts in the same timeframe.
Congress should increase the Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) budget. EERE supports the development of clean, renewable and efficient energy technologies to foster a global clean energy economy. Continuing to invest in clean energy sources reduces the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, reduces pollution and mitigate the effects of climate change and strengthens national security. I am a cosponsor of the Grants for Renewable Energy Education for the Nation (GREEN) Act, which creates clean energy curriculum development grants to develop courses focused on emerging careers in the renewable energy fields.
The U.S. must continue its investment in renewable energy. If the U.S. does not, another country will. This investment should start with education. WWU in Washington’s Second District is an example of an effective interdisciplinary energy program that teaches students to partner their interests in renewable energy and with evolving needs of the local industry in Washington state. At the end of their curriculum, students are expected to participate in a capstone project in which they act as consultants to create renewable energy projects for local energy companies.
In fact, interdisciplinary energy studies are growing in the United States. Just five years ago, WWU offered one of three interdisciplinary undergraduate degrees to address the science, technology, policy, business and economic aspects of energy systems. Today, there are over 800 universities in the U.S. that offer multi or interdisciplinary studies degrees.
I will continue working to increase access and opportunity for people to good-paying in-demand STEM industry jobs. Further investment in skills training, automation initiatives, cybersecurity education and green technology will foster the evolution and growth of the future workforce and will keep the U.S. globally innovative and competitive.
