Senator Patty Murray is working on two new bills to help workers get and retain jobs. “I hear from business owners all the time, who want to hire, that they can’t find workers with the kind of skills and training they need to fill the positions that are open,” Murray says at a press conference in Ballard.
Senator Murray tours Pacific Fishermen Shipyard in Ballard with general manager Doug Dixon.
This morning the Senator toured Pacific Fishermen Shipyard (5351 24th Avenue NW) and stopped to discuss the new Promoting Innovations to 21st Century Careers Act. “What this legislation does is create public/private partnerships to help bridge that gap between high school and post-secondary education and the actual work place,” she says. “It makes sure that our students have an opportunity to gain real world work experience that’s actually linked to rigorous academic learning even as young as middle and high school.” The goal of the bill is to connect employers with possible employees in the communities where they live. It will also give established employees the updated job skills to keep their jobs.
Senator Murray talks with a former Wamu employee who received the training needed to work at Pacific Fishermen Shipyard.
Senator Murray will soon introduce another piece of legislation that will update and reform the nation’s primary workforce development system, which is critical to retraining workers, including those who have been laid off. “Everyone knows that if we want America to out-innovate and out-build our global competition, we’re going to have to out-educate and out-train and out-work them. And that’s exactly what the Workforce Investment Act that I will be introducing will do,” said Senator Murray.