Feb. 24, 2015
HARRISBURG – Members of the House Education Committee today – Chairman Stan Saylor (R-York), Co-chairman James Roebuck (D-Philadelphia), Rep. Seth Grove (R-York) – and Majority Leader Dave Reed (R-Indiana) announced plans to create a new Select Subcommittee on Technical Education and Career Readiness to refocus Pennsylvania’s secondary and post-secondary education on career training to match graduates with the existing good-paying jobs that are available in Pennsylvania.
Saylor and Roebuck have sponsored
House Resolution 102, the passage of which is necessary to create the select subcommittee. Among the committee’s tasks will be to investigate existing science, technical, engineering and mathematics (STEM) schools and vocational-technical programs and develop proposals to promote career pathways to meet existing employment needs.
“I have been very impressed by the performance of our STEM and technical schools, both with their graduation rates and ability to quickly place graduates in good paying careers,” Saylor said. “When we see schools performing in this manner, we should seek to maximize their success because it results in stronger communities and Pennsylvanians employed in careers with family-sustaining incomes.”
Roebuck said, “Success is not only in a four-year education – it’s also in the opportunities offered by career and technical training that might be less than four years. Those are opportunities that students should consider, and in many cases, those opportunities may be the ones they need for success as they move into adult life.”
Reed said education is the key to lifting people and communities up, and that technical schools and STEM-focused programs continue to prove their value by providing Pennsylvanians with the skills needed to succeed.
“Education is truly the great equalizer of our society,” Reed said. “This committee presents a wonderful opportunity to engage in a discussion about education across the Commonwealth and how we can help students make decisions which capitalize on their talents, while also filling key technical positions in our state’s workforce.“
Grove, who has been tapped to chair the new panel, said the full House Education Committee plans to vote on House Resolution 102 at tomorrow’s meeting, and he is eager to get to work.
“Each year, students across the Commonwealth are being sent to four-year-traditional colleges with areas of study in which they will never have a job with a family-supporting salary,” Grove said. “Meanwhile, the demand is growing for graduates of our state’s technical schools, with plenty of great jobs available. We need to make sure students across Pennsylvania know these opportunities exist. I look forward to taking a closer look at this issue as chairman of this select committee.”
Representative Stan Saylor
94th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Charles Lardner
clardner@pahousegop.com
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