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Sen. Coons Praises Federal Skills-Training Review

U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del) praised President Obama’s memorandum, signed Thursday at a General Electric facility in Waukesha, Wis., to the Secretaries of Labor, Commerce, and Education that instructs a comprehensive review of the nation’s job training programs.

Washington — U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del) praised President Obama’s memorandum, signed Thursday at a General Electric facility in Waukesha, Wis., to the Secretaries of Labor, Commerce, and Education that instructs a comprehensive review of the nation’s job training programs. This review will be lead by Vice President Biden.

The memorandum states that VP Biden must develop a plan of action to make the workforce and training system more job-driven and effective, all within 180 days. This plan will be required to contain specifics as to how the government can make programs more relevant to the companies that need more employees, and accessible to the people who need jobs the most.

The full text of the memorandum can be found here: http://1.usa.gov/1aKQg5s

In a statement, Sen. Coons said, “Washington needs to do everything it can to invest in American workers. The government-wide review of job training programs announced by President Obama in the State of the Union and made official today is an important first step.

“There are already a number of good bills in the Senate that could help American workers get the training they need for modern manufacturing jobs, like Senator Franken’s bill to strengthen ties between community colleges and local manufacturers, Senator Hagan’s bipartisan American Works Act, and Senator Shaheen’s bipartisan On the Job Training Act. The Senate HELP Committee passed the bipartisan Workforce Investment Act led by Senators Murray and Isakson with an overwhelming 18-3 vote in July. The President’s memo today is progress, and I hope Congress will work with him to make even more.”

Sen. Coons is the head of the Manufacturing Jobs for America initiative in the Senate, which aims to introduce legislation intended to improve business conditions for U.S. manufacturers.

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