Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, on Friday joined 198 of her House colleagues in a bipartisan letter to U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer urging her to continue the Job Corps program.
On May 29, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a notice that it will begin a phased pause in operations at contractor-operated Job Corps centers across the country. Job Corps is a national program with over 120 centers across the country.
The program offers at-risk youth varied academic opportunities and career pathways in business and industry.
The Members wrote in part, “Nearly 20,000 young people utilize Job Corps to learn skills for in-demand vocational and technical job training. Job Corps is one of the few national programs that specifically targets the 16-24-year-old population that is neither working, nor in school, and provides them with a direct pathway into employment openings in industries such as manufacturing and shipbuilding. The program also connects these young Americans with apprenticeships, higher education opportunities, or the military.
“As companies continue to onshore and invest in the men and women of our country, a steady stream of skilled laborers will be required to meet the growing workforce demand. The Job Corps program is uniquely positioned to fill that role and provide these hardworking young Americans with the vocational and technical job training that will set them and our country up for success.”
