[House Hearing, 115 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
JOBS AND OPPORTUNITY: EMPLOYER
PERSPECTIVES ON THE JOBS GAP
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES
of the
COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
APRIL 25, 2018
__________
Serial No. 115-HR06
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Ways and Means
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
33-867 WASHINGTON : 2019
COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
KEVIN BRADY, Texas, Chairman
SAM JOHNSON, Texas RICHARD E. NEAL, Massachusetts
DEVIN NUNES, California SANDER M. LEVIN, Michigan
DAVID G. REICHERT, Washington JOHN LEWIS, Georgia
PETER J. ROSKAM, Illinois LLOYD DOGGETT, Texas
VERN BUCHANAN, Florida MIKE THOMPSON, California
ADRIAN SMITH, Nebraska JOHN B. LARSON, Connecticut
LYNN JENKINS, Kansas EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon
ERIK PAULSEN, Minnesota RON KIND, Wisconsin
KENNY MARCHANT, Texas BILL PASCRELL, JR., New Jersey
DIANE BLACK, Tennessee JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York
TOM REED, New York DANNY DAVIS, Illinois
MIKE KELLY, Pennsylvania LINDA SANCHEZ, California
JIM RENACCI, Ohio BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
PAT MEEHAN, Pennsylvania TERRI SEWELL, Alabama
KRISTI NOEM, South Dakota SUZAN DELBENE, Washington
GEORGE HOLDING, North Carolina JUDY CHU, California
JASON SMITH, Missouri
TOM RICE, South Carolina
DAVID SCHWEIKERT, Arizona
JACKIE WALORSKI, Indiana
CARLOS CURBELO, Florida
MIKE BISHOP, Michigan
DARIN LAHOOD, Illinois
David Stewart, Staff Director
Brandon Casey, Minority Chief Counsel
______
SUBCOMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES
ADRIAN SMITH, Nebraska, Chairman
JACKIE WALORSKI, Indiana DANNY DAVIS, Illinois
CARLOS CURBELO, Florida LLOYD DOGGETT, Texas
MIKE BISHOP, Michigan TERRI SEWELL, Alabama
DAVID SCHWEIKERT, Arizona JUDY CHU, California
DARIN LAHOOD, Illinois
DAVID G. REICHERT, Washington
C O N T E N T S
__________
Page
Advisory of April 25, 2018....................................... 2
WITNESSES
David Ard, Senior Vice President and Global Head of People and
Communications, Gap, Inc....................................... 6
Julie Shapiro, Executive Director, The Door...................... 12
Steve Staub, President and Owner, Staub Manufacturing Solutions.. 18
Dr. Dan Lustig, Psy.D. CAADC MISA II, President and CEO,
Haymarket Center............................................... 27
Glenn Johnson, Manufacturing Workforce Development Leader, BASF
Corporation.................................................... 33
Barb Pilarski, Head of Human Resources, FCA U.S. LLC............. 40
JOBS AND OPPORTUNITY: EMPLOYER
PERSPECTIVES ON THE JOBS GAP
----------
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2018
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Ways and Means,
Subcommittee on Human Resources,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 11:30 a.m., in
Room 1100, Longworth House Office Building, the Honorable
Adrian Smith [Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
[The advisory announcing the hearing follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman SMITH. The Subcommittee will come to order. Good
morning and welcome to the third hearing in our series focusing
on jobs and opportunity. The purpose of these hearings is to
demonstrate how, as our economy continues to strengthen,
following the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,
employers' demand for workers is growing and our human services
programs can plan an important role in supporting the next wave
of workers needed to continue this economic growth.
Millions of Americans are on the sidelines of our economy,
and it is vital we understand how taxpayer resources,
particularly those under this Committee's jurisdiction, are
being leveraged, or not, to address the needs of those
struggling to get ahead. With the Temporary Assistance to Needy
Families program set to expire in September, this Committee
must not stand down from its responsibility to reauthorize this
program and provide certainty to families, States, and
taxpayers.
Last week, we were honored to welcome Department of Labor's
Secretary Alexander Acosta to share the Federal Government's
perspective. Secretary Acosta told the Committee in his opening
remarks how the Department of Labor has been working to keep
our economy moving forward because, as it fires on all
cylinders, with the help of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
He said, quote: ``At the Department of Labor, we are
creating opportunity for all Americans by expanding
apprenticeships across all industries by streamlining
traditional workforce education and providing State leaders the
flexibilities they need to meet the needs of job creators and
their local workforces,'' end quote.
Secretary Acosta also emphasized the demand from Governors
for more flexibility to focus funds on where they can best
serve the needs of the communities. He rightly pointed out that
Nebraska is different from California, which is very different
from Florida and went on to add, it is not just cooperation
between the agencies but also flexibility to allow the
Governors to focus workforce education funds where they best
serve the needs of their States.
Two weeks ago, before this Subcommittee, we heard about
local perspectives from Members' districts about the challenges
they are facing in an economic environment with low
unemployment and more than 6 million job openings. Three
witnesses, including a program participant, testified about a
program, the Arizona Homebuilders Association, started to help
companies be able to continue to grow as they face a labor
shortage. The association partnered with Arizona correctional
facilities to provide training in construction trades to
inmates nearing their release date. These are win-win programs.
Companies gain access to a strong labor pool of hardworking
individuals, and incarcerated men and women are given the
purpose and stability of good jobs, reducing recidivism. Public
policy should have the same goals. But the programs heard about
2 weeks ago were created and operated entirely without the use
of Federal, State, or local funds or programs.
At the same time, there are more than 40 federal job
training programs. States are spending a combined $30 billion a
year through TANF, and less than half of those dollars are
being spent on core work activities and supportive services
that could help close the jobs gap.
Today, we continue our exploration of the jobs gap, the
difference between the employers' demands for workers, shown as
job openings, and the declining number of individuals in the
workforce, as shown on the screen as the labor force
participation rate. Our panel features several larger national
employers across industries, including automotive,
manufacturing, chemical, and retail.
They will each highlight challenges they face in growing
their businesses due to a lack of workers. What they are doing
to address the jobs gap and what they believe is the best way
to promote Americans to get back into the workforce. Today's
employers may have similar stories as those from our first
hearing, but we will be focusing on their business case for
investing in workers on the sidelines to get them job-ready.
We will also learn more about why this moment is different
from those in the past and the urgency which is needed to
address the jobs gap. Today I am excited to learn from the
witnesses about their experiences and what has led to their
success so we can translate these lessons into better public
policy for across-the-board victories for American workers,
American families, American businesses, and the American
economy.
Without objection, I will now recognize Mr. Davis, our
Ranking Member, for his opening statement.
Mr. DAVIS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I thank you for
holding this hearing. I have appreciated your willingness to
hear from a range of voices, including returning citizens who
are often left behind by the economy and left out of our policy
changes. I also hope we will have the opportunity to hear
testimony in response to specific potential changes.
We need ample feedback from the people who are successfully
lifting up families in our communities to ensure that any
policy changes we consider will help more Americans get good
jobs and not bring added hardship on struggling families.
Thurgood Marshall correctly observed that none of us got where
we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got
here because somebody--a parent, a teacher, a family, or a
political connection, a nun, or other faith-inspired person or
program--helped us pick up our boots.
More than three-fourths of unemployed Illinois residents
live in the Chicago area. In my congressional district, the
unemployment rate is over 9 percent, and more than a fourth of
families with children live in poverty. In Illinois the Black
unemployment rate is twice the overall State unemployment rate,
and at least 43 percent of Black men, aged 20 to 24 in Chicago,
are neither employed nor in school.
I share your desire to connect people with jobs so they can
lift themselves and their families out of poverty. But I remain
concerned by the rhetoric we are hearing in Washington,
suggesting that helping people with barriers to employment who
live in communities with few resources, who lack connections in
some form of offensive welfare, that merits cutting or
attaching humiliating conditions. We should not be cutting off
food, housing, and healthcare for people who aren't working. We
should be knocking down the barriers that are keeping them from
getting good jobs and supporting them, just as people supported
us in achieving their goals.
I am looking forward to hearing from our witnesses today. I
want to think not just the good they are doing, but also what
we can learn from them about what works and how we can apply
these lessons to programs we oversee, like the Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families program, or TANF; the Fatherhood
grants; and child support enforcement.
We know that low-income fathers are among those who
encounter multiple barriers to good jobs, and we know that
State TANF programs are generally not assisting them, and child
support enforcement programs are sending them a bill but not
helping them to get a job to pay it. We know that the mothers
served by TANF are encountering barriers to education and
training that were created by Congress and keep them from
getting good jobs.
And we know that many families are struggling just to get
the basics--food on the table, a roof over their heads,
treatment for serious health conditions--and there is no point
in trying to find them jobs until they have those basic
necessities. There are many good things happening in
communities across the country, but they are not available to
everyone who needs them.
TANF is supposed to help parents work, but what is clear
from witness testimonies from this and past hearings is that
TANF is not conducting quality workforce development with the
array of services needed to support workers with multiple
barriers. We should take these lessons about what works and
apply them to create widely available opportunities for parents
to succeed.
Helping our citizens address these barriers and obtain
quality, good-paying benefits our communities, our Nation, and
our economy is in need. I, too, welcome our witnesses, and
thank you again for holding this hearing.
Chairman SMITH. Thank you, Mr. Davis.
Without objection, others Members' opening statements will
be made a part of the record. I would like to welcome our
witnesses here today.
First, we have Mr. David Ard, a senior vice president and
global head of people and communications at Gap Inc. Next, we
have Ms. Julie Shapiro, executive director of The Door, an
organization in New York City. Next, we have Mr. Steve Staub,
president and owner of Staub Manufacturing Solutions in Dayton,
Ohio. And next we have Dr. Dan Lustig, president and CEO of the
Haymarket Center in Chicago, Illinois. And then we have Mr.
Glenn Johnson, the manufacturing workforce development leader
at BASF Corporation in Houston, Texas.
I now recognize Mr. Bishop for the purpose of introducing
his constituent from Michigan.
Mr. BISHOP. Well, thank you, Mr. Chair. It is my great
honor to be able to introduce Barb Pilarski. Ms. Pilarski is
the head of human resources for Fiat Chrysler North American
Operations based just outside my district in Auburn Hills,
Michigan. Similar to the others employers we have heard from in
the previous hearings, Fiat Chrysler is also experiencing major
workforce challenges, especially in finding workers for their
manufacturing plants in order to keep up with the increasing
demand for their vehicles.
They have recently interviewed several thousand nonskilled
employees to fill openings as part of their new
industrialization plan, and several thousand more are
forthcoming. They have also restructured their hiring approach
and the interview process and are considering changing the
requirement of a college degree to be a supervisor. To their
great credit, Fiat Chrysler has been working proactively with
United Way and other partner organizations to connect employees
and potential employees--excuse me, employers and potential
employees to support services they need to enter the
successful--and be successful in the workforce.
Ms. Pilarski, we appreciate you being here today to provide
your perspective on the jobs gap, and we look forward to your
testimony.
Chairman SMITH. Thank you.
Witnesses are reminded to limit their oral statements to 5
minutes. All of your written statements, certainly in their
entirety, will be included in the official record. We will
begin with Mr. Ard. Begin when you are ready.
STATEMENT OF DAVID ARD, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND GLOBAL HEAD
OF PEOPLE AND COMMUNICATIONS, GAP INC., NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Mr. ARD. Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Davis, and Members
of the Subcommittee, it is an honor to be with you today at
this very important hearing on the challenge of finding
qualified workers to support our businesses and provide
Americans more opportunities for jobs.
I am here to talk about This Way Ahead, which is a Gap Inc.
program that gives young people, especially those facing
barriers to employment, an opportunity for their first job with
an Old Navy, Gap, or Banana Republic store. Before I share more
about This Way Ahead, I ask you to pause for just a moment and
think about your first job and what it taught you.
My first job was working at a video store. And through that
job, I learned that my time was worth something, got a lot of
great free movies, and working allowed me to pay my own way,
which was really important. I grew up in a small town. My
parents didn't have a lot of money, a small town in south
Florida.
A first job is an important milestone in every person's
life. For many young people, especially those with limited
opportunities, it can be life-changing and it can shape an
individual's prospects for the future. In the United States,
there are 4.6 million opportunity youth that are disconnected
from school and from work.
Research shows that not getting a first job as a teenager
has a profound effect on your long-term earning potential. For
example, being unemployed young can reduce earnings by as much
as 20 percent for up to two decades. To address the challenge
for opportunity youth, we recognized that we have two key job
assets: jobs in our stores and the experience of hiring
teenagers.
In our company's nearly 50-year history, we estimate that
we have given over 1 million youth their first jobs. It is a
really important responsibility that we believe we have in the
community. Our store managers are great at coaching, and they
are great at development, and we know what it takes to help
young employees get on the path to future success.
So, in 2007, we designed This Way Ahead, and that was to
give youth facing barriers a way to the workforce and a way up.
Over the last 10 years, we have also come to recognize that
This Way Ahead is very important for the long-term
sustainability of our business. The program helps to expand our
talent pool, to support business growth and foster a future
customer base.
Here is how the program works. In each of the locations
where This Way Ahead operates, we team up with local nonprofits
that run job training programs, like The Door that my friend,
Julie Shapiro, runs in New York City. These nonprofit partners
recruit motivated youth, ages 16 to 24, facing barriers to
employment.
Our local Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic store
employees, they volunteer with the nonprofits to help support
training, making connections with the youth. Our employees run
workshops on topics like customer service, conflict resolution,
as well as presentation skills.
When the training ends, youth apply and store managers
interview them. Thanks to the volunteer interactions prior to
the interviews, the youth and our hiring managers, they aren't
meeting for the first time. So, it is not a high-stakes
interview. One of the key differentiators lies in the interview
itself. We guide the hiring managers to hire for potential, not
credential: a prevalent openness to feedback, and work ethic.
Since those are two factors that contribute to success, the
youth who demonstrate these attributes are hired to work in an
Old Navy, Gap, and a Banana Republic store. And even more
important than getting a job is keeping that job.
In addition to store managers who offer guidance and
feedback, we also build another support system to help keep
youth employed. Each This Way Ahead participant has what we
call a Big Sib, who helps them and supports them on questions
that they have and questions that they may not want to ask
their managers. I think we all need a Big Sib sometimes in our
life. It goes into things like how their locker works or where
they eat lunch.
There is also a job coach from the nonprofit who meet
regularly with the youth to provide additional support and
advice on issues that may come up at work and home. All these
supports, in addition to the exposure of Gap Inc.'s culture and
values, help to make the youth feel at home and welcomed into
the family. They know we believe in them, and they want to
succeed.
I want to give a brief example and a story of Dashawn
Hightower--he is a This Way Ahead alumnus--that underlines the
importance of these supports. Dashawn currently works at one of
Gap Inc.'s largest stores, our Old Navy at 34th Street in
Manhattan. He is a business and operations training specialist,
and he is the oldest of three children. He lives with his mom
and his sisters in the Bronx.
Dashawn started his career with us at This Way Ahead,
participated in our Old Navy store in Harlem, New York. In his
words: This Way Ahead was a struggle. There were times when I
was late or got written up, but my managers pushed me. They
didn't give up on me. Finally, my manager, Yeera, pulled me to
the side and asked, what is it you want to do with this
opportunity? I thought I had joined the program to become a
sales associate and get a check. She made me realize that this
was only the beginning. If I worked hard enough, there was a
real opportunity to grow within the company. That is what it
took to turn me around.
Dashawn has continued to grow his career with our company.
He has held multiple specialist roles and has been promoted
several times. He is now supervising This Way Ahead
participants, helping others to see the opportunities to
advance professionally.
I will give a couple of statistics, for the purpose of
time, and I would be very happy to answer questions as we go
forward. But a few things in terms of our results and things
that give us confidence that there is greater opportunity for
us to move forward: 71 percent of This Way Ahead participants
improve their soft skills, so things like decision-making and
time management; 72 percent of our alumni from 2007 to 2016 are
employed in at least one paid job, versus 55 percent of 16 to
24 year olds in general U.S. population; 81 percent of This Way
Ahead store managers said that This Way Ahead increases their
pride in working for our company; and 66 percent said it gives
them a lot more--said it makes them a lot more willing to go
above and beyond what is normally expected to help their brand
succeed.
We give advice to other employers all the time. Do not
underestimate the valuable talent you may be overlooking by
relying on traditional recruitment and training practices.
Programs like This Way Ahead demonstrate that we do not need to
choose between what is good for the community and what is good
for business. We can have both. We can have them at the same
time, and we can create sustainable programs that benefit all
of us. Thank you.
Chairman SMITH. Thank you, Mr. Ard.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Ard follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman SMITH. Ms. Shapiro, you may begin.
STATEMENT OF JULIE SHAPIRO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE DOOR, NEW
YORK, NEW YORK
Ms. SHAPIRO. Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Davis, and
Members of the Subcommittee, I am honored to be with you today
at this important hearing on jobs and opportunities. My name is
Julie Shapiro, and I am the executive director of The Door in
New York City.
For over 45 years, The Door has served as a vital resource
for New York City's young people, including those facing
homelessness, unemployment, poverty, and deportation. The
Door's mission has always been to empower young people to reach
their potential by providing comprehensive youth programs in a
diverse and caring environment.
Each year, The Door works with nearly 10,000 young New
Yorkers, ages 12 to 24. We offer comprehensive integrated
programs free of charge, confidentially, and all under one
roof. They include primary and behavioral healthcare;
education; career training, and internships; creative arts
programs; healthy meals and nutrition counseling; legal and
immigration services; and supportive of housing.
The Door provides career and education services to 3,400
young people annually, 1,200 of whom are disconnected youth. We
know that for many low-income young adults, three intertwined
challenges impact their ability to gain a foothold in the labor
market. They are: one, minimal educational attainment and basic
skills; two, limited job opportunities; and, three, limited
access to living wage career paths.
The retail industry, our Nation's largest employer,
provides genuine opportunities to address these challenges, due
to a willingness to hire young adults, low entry-level skill
requirements, anticipated growth, and advancement
opportunities. Part-time retail jobs provide flexibility to
meet competing needs for immediate work and continued
education, and these jobs build skills valued throughout the
labor market.
For more than 15 years, The Door has been committed to
tapping into the retail sector. Our longstanding, employer/
nonprofit partnership with Gap Inc. has been the cornerstone of
our pioneering retail sector training programs. We have been
working together and building a team that finds solutions that
work for Gap and for young people from the development of first
pilot site at This Way Ahead in 2007 with 11 interns. This
year, 11 years later, we are preparing to place 414 youth in
internships across more than 60 stores in New York City and
Westchester County. In 2019, we anticipate growing the program
to 500 interns. As far as we know, this is the largest
employer-led internship initiative in the entire company.
This Way Ahead internships are designed to provide youth
with invaluable hands-on experience in the workforce, often for
the first time. Participants gain essential and transferable
job skills, as well as in-depth knowledge of the retail
industry. Interns receive ongoing mentoring and supervision
from store managers who have participated in related training.
Participants are also encouraged to take advantage of The
Door's entire suite of support services to address any barriers
they may face, so that they remain engaged in their internship.
Our unique model ensures that anything a young person needs is
available at The Door, from academic tutoring, to help applying
to college, to healthcare.
The results have been remarkable to date. Over 11 years, of
the more than 1,500 young people who have completed our
training, 62 percent were offered internships, 89 percent of
those completed their internships, and 72 percent of those
received job offers. This Way Ahead graduates stay with the
company twice as long as their peers and have higher engagement
scores than their coworkers. Third party evaluations have
demonstrated that This Way Ahead participants also improve
their confidence and on-the-job skills.
Here is what I think is the best evidence of our success,
and David mentioned this, but I think it bears repeating: 72
percent of program alumni from the first 10 years are currently
employed in at least one paid job versus 55 percent of 16 to 24
year olds in the general U.S. population. Significantly, our
partnership has paved the way for Gap Inc. to expand This Way
Ahead to 32 additional U.S. cities.
This Way Ahead is a model of how companies and nonprofit
organizations can collaborate to make an impact on the lives of
thousands of disconnected youth. Many companies want to do the
right thing and hire young people in the community. Our
partnership with Gap Inc. shows this can be brought to scale,
but only if there is a strong partnership with an experienced
youth development organization.
I am grateful to Gap Inc. for their outstanding leadership
and partnership, and I encourage the Subcommittee to look at
ways to develop and fund programs like This Way Ahead. Thank
you for your time.
Chairman SMITH. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Shapiro follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman SMITH. Mr. Staub, you are recognized for 5
minutes.
STATEMENT OF STEVE STAUB, PRESIDENT AND OWNER, STAUB
MANUFACTURING SOLUTIONS, DAYTON, OHIO
Mr. STAUB. Good morning, Chairman Smith and Ranking Member
Davis----
Chairman SMITH. You might want to turn your microphone on
there.
Mr. STAUB. Good morning, Chairman Smith, Ranking Member
Davis, and Members of the Subcommittee on Human Resources,
thank you for allowing me to be here today. I am Steve Staub,
president of Staub Manufacturing Solutions in Dayton, Ohio, a
business my sister and I started with the help of our father
that specializes in manufacturing fabricated metal components
and assemblies from everything from locomotives to agricultural
equipment, and retail displays.
I care a lot about manufacturing in our country. That is
why I am here today, and that is why I am proud to serve on
boards of organizations like the Ohio Manufacturer's
Association, or the OMA, and the National Association of
Manufacturers, the NAM.
Nationwide, manufacturers employ more than 12 million
people, as the NAM recently found in its manufacturing outlook
survey. Since the tax reform was passed, the manufacturer's
optimism is at an all-time high. At Staub, like many small- and
medium-size manufacturers, we have been struggling in the past
just to keep our doors open.
Now, since the debate and passage of tax reform, we have
been able to invest in new equipment, expand our facility, hire
new employees, and provide our people with bonuses and pay
raises. There are many other examples like ours across the
country. In fact, the NAM recently launched a new campaign,
called Keeping Our Promise, that highlights these stories. But
while manufacturers are growing and creating jobs, we are also
having difficulty finding enough workers to fill those jobs.
Approximately 426,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs are going
unfilled today, because there are simply not an enough
qualified applicants to fill them. Over a 10-year period, that
number is going to rise to 2 million if we don't do something
now. So what can we do? Well, quite a few things, actually.
Here are some basic points.
First, there is what groups like the NAM and OMA are doing.
They are working hard to support the next generation of
manufacturing workers through various incentives, and progress
has been made, in particular, in encouraging veterans, women,
and other underrepresented populations as well as showcasing
the promise of manufacturing to America's youth.
Second, there is what manufacturing companies can do as an
individual. At Staub, we have developed some recruiting
strategies that may be considered somewhat unconventional. We
have been working with a local anti-poverty agency, for
example. And we have often welcomed team members to our
finishing department with little or no skill, teaching them a
trade and giving them plenty of opportunity for advancement. We
believe in hiring for attitude and training for skill.
Not only is this the right thing to do for our communities,
but we believe there is also a strong business case to take on
harder to serve individuals as well. And the result of our
efforts has led to improved employee retention and loyalty.
Third, there is work being done with local education
institutions. I am very engaged in our local schools to get
students involved in manufacturing. A few years ago, a group of
us got together and started a nonprofit called Xtreme STEM to
get kids excited about the manufacturing industry. We host
robotic and 3-D printing competitions with names like Xtreme
BOTS and Xtreme 3D.
Other opportunities include apprenticeships, various
workplace learning opportunities, and certificate programs that
combine classroom time with work experience. Our company, like
many others, also offers 100 percent tuition reimbursement.
Fourth, there is what policymakers can do. Manufacturers
appreciate the House passing the bipartisan Strengthening
Career and Technology Education for the 21st Century Act. We
hope it will pass the Senate soon, too. In addition, there is
more that elected officials can do to help support communities
like ours that have been impacted by the horrific and
absolutely devastating opioid crisis.
When someone survives addiction, they need more help, they
need tools and strategies to keep off drugs and get back into
the workforce and stay employed. Finally, we need a continued
commitment to the kind of programs--policies like tax reform
that helped create today's manufacturing renaissance in the
first place.
Manufacturing offers many promising career options, often
without the financial burdens of college debt. And the average
manufacturing worker earns about 27 percent more in wages and
benefits than their peers. These well-paying jobs are in
modern, high-tech, and a growing industry, and they are ready
to be filled today. In fact, let me say this. Right now, we
have $500,000 in paid benefits and training to give away to
five people, but we are having trouble finding those people.
Here is what I would say to your constituents: It is not
difficult to get this money, just show up every day, be willing
to learn, be drug-free, and we will teach you the skills that
you need to know. I imagine countless other manufacturers
around the country feel the same way and have the same
opportunities. In the meantime, we are going to keep working
hard to tackle the skills gap. We appreciate what you are
doing. Thank you.
Chairman SMITH. Thank you, Mr. Staub.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Staub follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman SMITH. Dr. Lustig.
STATEMENT OF DAN LUSTIG, PSY.D. CAADC MISA II, PRESIDENT AND
CEO, HAYMARKET CENTER, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Mr. LUSTIG. Good morning, Chairman Smith, Ranking Member
Davis, and Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for allowing
me to testify this morning. My name is Dr. Dan Lustig. I am the
president and CEO of Haymarket Center in Chicago. It is the
largest and most comprehensive provider of treatment for
substance use and mental health disorders in Chicago, founded
in 1975 by Father Ignatius McDermott.
Haymarket Center has grown to serve over 12,000 individuals
annually in over 30 specialized treatment programs and work
development programs. Haymarket Center serves individuals
suffering from addiction, especially those presenting with
histories of unemployment, homelessness, criminal justice
involvement, trauma, and mental illness. Haymarket Center's
recovery support infrastructure helps clients sustain recovery,
minimize relapse, and improve overall quality of life, through
its onsite provision of services that go far beyond the scope
of most treatment programs. For example, with family medicine
and psychiatry, child care, and job training.
Problems with employment are common among individuals with
substance use disorders, yet comprehensive vocational services
are not generally available to them, and vocational
interventions are often not matched to their specific needs.
Substance use and other barriers have been identified as an
important problem to address among the hard-to-employ TANF
recipients and other entitlement programs.
A diverse set of factors have been identified as potential
barriers to employability. These include situational factors,
such as transportation; human resource factors like low
literacy or low job skills; and personal problems, such as
domestic violence or substance use disorders.
Studies indicate that the presence of these barriers, and
especially the co-occurrence of multiple barriers, is
associated with lower likelihood of employment. Over the past
two decades, there have been numerous programs attempting to
add additional requirements on a vulnerable population without
understanding that all barriers to employment must be addressed
and in place for individuals to be successful.
In general, low-income individuals and users of public
benefits do not have substance use disorders at a higher rate
than the general public. It is just that when they do, it is
very clear that they have fewer resources to address them.
In 2011, Haymarket Center received a Pathways to
Responsible Fatherhood grant from the Administration for
Children and Families to serve low-income fathers in Chicago
who are both entering treatment for substance use disorders and
estranged from their children because of their drug use. The
project enrolled over 1,300 fathers. Most of these fathers
resided in low-income communities on the south and west sides
of Chicago. These neighborhoods have the highest murder rates
and drug arrest rates in the Nation. All of these fathers
served through the program had complex problems in addition to
their substance use disorders.
Other barriers included involvement in the criminal justice
system, unemployment, lack of housing, little to no work
history, low educational levels, multiple children from
different mothers, and co-occurring mental illness and other
chronic diseases. Of the participants that we enrolled, 61
percent were African American, 8 percent Hispanic, 27 percent
White; 46 percent of the sample had GED or a high school
diploma; 64 percent were never married; 74 percent had a family
history of substance use; 48 percent lived below the federal
poverty level; 55 percent were currently involved in the
criminal justice system; 64 percent report being victimized as
children and young adults; 39 percent were reported severe
victimization, including weapons; 76 percent reported extensive
history of running away and period of homelessness; 48 percent
reported use of alcohol and drug use under the age of 15; 29
percent reported history of depression and suicidal ideation;
73 reported a history of profound trauma.
This representative sample demonstrates that many of the
individuals have multigenerational barriers, that if we do not
continue to wrap around services around this population, they
will not be able to achieve a stable employment history. Over
the course of the past two decades, there have been two
specific times when the government attempted to place work
requirements on this vulnerable population, both times failing
in that they did not address the barriers to sustain
employment.
Our program at Haymarket Center, once their addiction was
stabilized, fathers were able to focus and meet the demands of
sustained work. Fathers began job readiness training program by
meeting with a vocational counselor who administered a
vocational assessment, health questionnaire, and criminal
background check. The vocational counsel then worked with
clients to develop an individual employment plan, informed by
the assessments. This IEP actually helped individuals get
connected to employment, that connected to a lot of different
resources that were not previously available to them because
their addiction and other illnesses and other conditions were
not stabilized.
In general, it is absolutely critical that we wrap services
around individuals if we look at increasing work requirements.
Right now, the work requirements will take enormous resources
that many States don't have. And it is important that the
Federal Government continue to support government supported
programs and resources as we move forward. Thank you.
Chairman SMITH. Thank you, Dr. Lustig.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Lustig follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman SMITH. Mr. Johnson, you may begin.
STATEMENT OF GLENN JOHNSON, MANUFACTURING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
LEADER, BASF CORPORATION, HOUSTON, TEXAS
Mr. JOHNSON. Thank you, Chairman Smith and Ranking Member
Davis for allowing me to testify today and to the rest of the
Committee. BASF is the second largest producer of chemical
products in North America. At BASF, we create chemistry for a
sustainable future. Sustainability includes the environment and
the economy but also people, and that is what I am here to talk
about today.
Some say that jobs in manufacturing are dead-end jobs. But
I am here today to testify that these jobs do not have a
ceiling; they have options. Some of us prefer the exciting,
hands-on aspects of technology roles, and some seek
administrative work. Manufacturing provides opportunities for
both, today.
Ms. Jana Truett was a cashier in a pharmacy when she
decided to get her associate's degree in process technology.
She began work with BASF as an operator and now trains others
in technology. Ms. Jalisa King was a cook when she decided to
get her associates degree. She is now an operator and part of
our ambassador team, telling her story to other young women.
Ms. Tara McMahon worked in a rec center. After completing her
associates degree, she now works as a laboratory technician.
I, personally, 22 years ago, was a proud young man living
in a trailer park in western Kentucky with only a high school
diploma whenever I began my first manufacturing job. I ran
assembly lines, and stacked cases of product. And as I worked
through the ranks, I took advantage of a tuition reimbursement
program. I progressed into leadership roles while continuing to
train and educate, with the support of my manufacturing
employer. That proud man from the trailer park sits before
Congress today to tell you that the manufacturing industry
changed my life, and it changes people's lives in the same way
every day.
Recently, there has been national discussion about the jobs
gap. However, if we are to solve this issue, we must treat the
root cause, not the symptom. The lack of skilled workers, for
example, is the symptom. The root cause, however, is much more
basic. In this country, we have allowed a narrative to develop
that the best jobs are no longer in manufacturing. From parents
and teachers to fictional characters portrayed on television,
the way we talk about certain careers has led to a lack of
interest in them, and we compound the problem by leaving
information out during counseling. We tell kids: Dream big; you
can do anything you want.
And although I believe this general direction to be
correct, it is profoundly incomplete. If a thousand children
dream to have a job that has two openings, 998 of them will be
unemployed, even if they are all straight A students. Countless
stories about graduates that cannot find jobs have become a
norm, seemingly accepted by society.
Coexisting with this norm is the fact that industries like
manufacturing simply cannot find enough workers for jobs that
most often pay more, have better benefits, and are in every way
as professional of a career than the jobs that these unemployed
and misinformed Americans sought. We must assure that job
availability is a part of the counseling we provide to
students, transitioning veterans, and other retooling adults
whenever they are making education and training decisions.
Collaboration with our industry partners is pivotal in
regional and national workforce development strategy. Instead
of BASF creating a pipeline for our own needs, we work with our
industry partners to determine the needs of the region to
create a workforce pipeline that supplies us all. Within the
East Harris County Manufacturers Association in Houston, Texas,
BASF joins with 12 colleges and 130 manufacturing and
contractor companies to identify the critical crafts for that
region and agree on the competencies needed.
Within the National Association of Manufacturer's ``Dream
It Do It'' platform, BASF joins with multiple industry
partners, where in 2017 alone, in one area of the country, we
delivered what we referred to as the manufacturing value
proposition to over 11,000 students and over 1,600 teachers,
parents, and other community representatives.
Within the North American process technology alliance, BASF
joins 49 colleges, 22 industrial organizations, and 19 vendors
across America. Here we focus on curriculum and instructor
skills for the process technology associate's degree.
We can no longer hit the snooze button on the jobs gap. We
must change our messaging to entice workers to seek jobs that
are readily available. We must create education success metrics
that indicate if we are filling the jobs most needed for
America's sustainability, not just how many people have 4-year
degrees.
The Department of Labor must provide job projections
directly to the Department of Education within an aligned and
specific strategy to guide education funding pursuit, as well
as spending decisions for program development incentives.
Chairman SMITH. Thank you, Mr. Johnson.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Johnson follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman SMITH. Ms. Pilarski.
STATEMENT OF BARB PILARSKI, HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES, FCA U.S.
LLC, AUBURN HILLS, MICHIGAN
Ms. PILARSKI. Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Davis, and
Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to
contribute to the discussion on how to address industry-wide
job gaps. As Head of Human Resources at Fiat Chrysler
Automobiles, I am responsible for more than 60,000 employees in
the U.S., many of whom live in Congressman Bishop's district.
Since June 2009, the company has created more than 28,000
new jobs and invested more than $10 billion in the United
States. We are justifiably proud of our growth in the U.S. over
the last decade, but it also creates a challenge: finding the
talented workers who will build our cars and trucks in the
future.
Our assembly line workers operate under a production
methodology that we call World Class Manufacturing, or WCM,
which relies heavily on employee engagement and leadership on
the shop floor. The results of WCM have exceeded our
expectations in health and safety, quality, productivity,
morale, and other key measures.
To continue to realize these kinds of benefits, we need our
future assembly line workers to be idea generators, critical
thinkers, problem solvers, and good communicators. We at FCA
face two interrelated challenges in achieving this. First, our
high school education system does not adequately expose
students, especially those who may not be interested in a four
year college degree to the manufacturing sector and the
attractions of careers in this area.
Second, this same education system has been inconsistent in
terms of providing all graduating students with the skills to
keep pace with the evolution of the automotive industry. We
need to build a stronger pipeline of workers at FCA, and we
have already begun to do this. For example, in 2013, we
initiated a partnership with Ivy Tech Community College in
Kokomo, Indiana, to launch the Integrated Technology Education
Program, also known as ITEP.
ITEP's goal is to reach high school students, including
students from Congresswoman Walorski's district who are
interested in manufacturing. The program exposes these students
to manufacturing theory and concepts beginning sophomore year,
followed by opportunities to shadow workers in a manufacturing
facility during senior year. High school students who complete
the ITEP program are eligible to receive free tuition for a two
year technical associate degree from Ivy Tech.
This fall, we plan to launch a pilot co-op program at a
Michigan Community College. The two year program combines
classroom learning for four days a week with one day a week of
work experience in one of our manufacturing facilities.
Graduates of the program will be interviewed for supervisory
jobs in our own plants.
Employers today have to think creatively about how to
better prepare and support the good people we hire. For
example, we recently redesigned our hiring and onboarding
process for more than 2,800 new employees who will build Ram
pickup trucks in Michigan to acclimate them to what it is like
to work in an assembly plant before they even set foot on the
shop floor.
We have also begun looking at ways to leverage our
longstanding relationship with the United Way of Southeastern
Michigan to provide other support and assistance to our workers
to enable them to address challenges, such as the lack of
reliable transportation and childcare, as well as to create
employment opportunities in our plants to support the
meaningful efforts that United Way is undertaking to get people
back to work.
I would like to leave you with two suggestions on ways you
can support employers like FCA. First, please continue to
support and fund programs like the Department of Labor's Youth
Career Connect Program, which supports educational partnerships
like the ITEP program in Indiana. And, second, consider
enhancing support for vocational education at high schools and
community colleges. Manufacturers like FCA are reaching out to
local schools to generate interest, but these efforts are
piecemeal and specific to each company.
We need your help to take a comprehensive approach. This is
so important, not just for us at FCA but for the suppliers and
small businesses that we depend on for the components we
utilize to build our cars and trucks. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Ard follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman SMITH. Thank you. I appreciate all of the
testimony here. We will move into questions from myself and
Members on both sides. I do want to point out that Nebraska is
a great place to do business, but we need more workers. And
having too few people for quite a while now to fill many
positions, I just don't want this to turn into lost
opportunity. And so, I am glad that we can have this discussion
that is particularly timely.
Mr. Ard, I understand you have a new partnership with the
Boys & Girls Clubs nationally, which will allow you to expand
your program, right?
Mr. ARD. Correct.
Chairman SMITH. I also understand that you will now be
having a presence with this program in Nebraska, although not
in my district. There are only three House Members. We get
along well and are proud of each other's advances in our
respective districts in Nebraska.
But can you perhaps talk about why you believe it is
important to expand beyond the major markets of say New York
City, Chicago, and L.A. to places like Omaha?
Mr. ARD. Yeah. Thank you very much. As you mentioned, we
will be going into the Nebraska market through an extended
partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. We are
going to go into 22 new cities that we are not currently
operating in, and we are very excited about that, by the way.
Let me give you a couple of details that we believe----
Chairman SMITH. Because it's Nebraska, right?
Mr. ARD. Nebraska. It is. So, let me give you a couple of
details that we think are key ingredients to these
partnerships. So, we look for a local youth-serving nonprofit,
and particularly one that runs training programs. As I
mentioned about the Big Sibs and some of the back-office
support, if you will, for our trainees, it is super important.
We look for employee volunteers from our Old Navy, from our
Gap, as well as from our Banana Republic stores, who are going
to work with the local nonprofits again to support the
training, as well as to make the connections with the youth,
and who also have an interest in their community. We look for
store managers who hire for potential and not credential. So,
they are probing on openness. They are probing on feedback,
work ethic. And, you know, we see that the interview approach
is a key differentiator, and so it is a core ingredient to our
ability to be successful as we go into a new market.
Support for youth post-hire is critically important. It is
one thing to get the job; it is another thing to keep the job.
In addition to store managers who offer the guidance and the
feedback through the This Way Ahead program, we have
established the Big Sib. And, again, this is someone who is
there for you, who is answering all your questions, things you
might not be interested in asking your manager directly, and it
just gives that supplemental support that they may not be
getting anywhere else in their life.
All of these supports, and in addition to exposure to Gap
Inc.'s culture as well as our values, help to make you feel
welcome and at home, and we know that they feel that they are
believed in.
Chairman SMITH. Very good. Thank you.
Mr. Staub, you have been sounding the alarm about the jobs
gap for quite some time, well before it was on a lot of the
other folks' radar. Can you tell me what motivates you to keep
beating this drum about the workforce and taking what others
perceive as risks in who you hire and devoting your personal
time to engaging with junior high and high school students?
Mr. STAUB. Thank you. Simply, it is the right thing to do.
I am third generation in the manufacturing industry and fifth
generation in Dayton, Ohio, and I have seen over the years how,
with the opioid epidemic and other things, how we have had a
lot of people that have somewhat been lost, I could say. And
the industry has continually grown, and it has worked out
well--it is just something I am passionate about to try and get
people into the industry.
Interacting with high school and middle-aged kids, I see
that the schools aren't--like was said previously--aren't
really conveying the message that you can be successful without
a 4-year degree. I went to college for a year and a half and
took a year off and never quite made it back. And there is a
lot of us out there that weren't college material but have been
very successful by following a path in the manufacturing and
trades industry.
Chairman SMITH. Very good. Thank you. I think these items
that you have raised and others on the panel have raised that
there is more than one path to success than a 4-year degree.
And I think we have turned the corner a bit on this, and
certainly I am a big fan of our community college system that
can work with the private sector very effectively and
efficiently as we do address this problem. And, hopefully, we
can see it as an opportunity to get folks back on to the
economic playing field and off the sidelines where it currently
is just posing some challenges and lost opportunities.
So, with that, I will recognize Mr. Davis for 5 minutes for
his questions.
Mr. DAVIS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I thank all the witnesses for your testimony. Dr. Lustig,
evidence shows that substance abuse disorders don't
discriminate, that wealthy people are just as likely to use
drugs as poor people. But poor people who are poor, especially
those in poor communities, do have a harder time getting
support and treatment than those with more resources,
especially in States that did not expand Medicaid under the
Affordable Care Act; they may not have access to treatment. And
even if they can access treatment, they may struggle to pay for
childcare or rent while they are in treatment, and they may be
less likely to have jobs waiting for them when they get out.
What are some of the additional supports you provide to
your clients to make sure that they can get treatment and be in
a position to get a job?
Mr. LUSTIG. So, first and foremost, Haymarket Center is a
400-bed residential complex on the west side of Chicago, and
our goal is to offer a very comprehensive program with
immediate access to care. So, once we stabilize individuals in
treatment, one of the key components in keeping individuals
sustained in recovery is job placement. And it is not just
getting someone stabilized on a medical disorder that is also
as critical, but so many of the patients that we see, which is
about 12,000 a year, actually have so many additional barriers.
And so, one of the three things that we do at Haymarket
Center that moves people into recovery quicker is that we not
only address the addiction, the mental illness, and any kind of
medical disorders that a patient presents with, but we have a
job readiness program, and that really starts to, as a person
finishes treatment, that is a time when we are able to work
with individuals, begin the soft skills training, and really
begin to rebuild a person. That still is not quite enough when
you deal with individuals with long-term addiction.
What is key is that we have what are called job coaches and
recovery coaches. That is a program that follows individuals
for 1-year post-treatment, and that is what we have learned to
be really key components for individuals who are leaving
treatment, is that we follow them for a year. And employers
actually begin to build a level of credibility when they know
that somebody else is involved with that individual. And so,
our program--our job training program focuses on job coaching
and mentoring and addressing those skills as a person moves
through what is called ``early recovery.''
Mr. DAVIS. Does your agency get any support from TANF?
Mr. LUSTIG. Yes, we do. We are an agency that has extensive
support from TANF. We couldn't do what we do if it wasn't the
support from TANF, both as it comes to addressing our entire
issue. About 6 years ago, we took on a family-based model, and
that model was designed not just to treat the individual
patient but the entire family because addiction impacts the
entire family. And so, we have had mothers and fathers who are
not just impaired when it comes to addictions, but a lot of the
kids are also failing in schools and need support. And so, a
lot of our programs go out into the community and work with the
entire family in addressing issues that the family needs to
address to heal them.
Mr. DAVIS. Mr. Johnson, does your program get any TANF
support?
Mr. JOHNSON. It is not something I have information for
today, but I can absolutely get back to you on that.
Mr. DAVIS. Ms. Pilarski, does your organization get TANF
support?
Ms. PILARSKI. Can you please repeat the question?
Mr. DAVIS. Yes. Do you have any support from TANF for the
work that you do?
Ms. PILARSKI. I would also have to get back to you on that.
We certainly have programs for our employees who are suffering
from substance abuse, individualized programs to help identify
those employees and then respond to those issues.
Mr. DAVIS. Mr. Staub, do you get any?
Mr. STAUB. I do not believe so.
Mr. DAVIS. Ms. Shapiro?
Ms. SHAPIRO. We do not.
Mr. DAVIS. Mr. Ard?
Mr. ARD. We do not. No specific plans at this time.
Mr. DAVIS. Well, I thank each one of you very much. And my
point is that there is room for TANF to provide support that is
currently not providing to some of the agencies that are doing
the work.
I yield back.
Chairman SMITH. Thank you. I now recognize Ms. Walorski for
5 minutes.
Mrs. WALORSKI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thanks to all of you for being here to talk about the jobs
gap.
Mr. Ard, just a quick question. I am curious, when your
folks are interviewing these applicants and you talk about what
they are looking for--they are kind of perusing with questions
on openness to feedback and work ethic, what are some of those
questions? How do you actually get in there and assess that?
Just give me an example of like two questions.
Mr. ARD. Absolutely. I mean, challenges that someone has
overcome, that is certainly a very important way by which you
can understand what someone has overcome, as well as what their
determination is. Grit is really important as we think about
that path to determination. And what they have learned from
their job training, that curiosity and that willingness and
that openness to have your mind changed. Those are two areas
and two fundamental sort of ways we go about asking questions
to get at that.
Mrs. WALORSKI. Interesting. I appreciate it.
And, Ms. Pilarski, thanks for all your work you are doing
in my district to drum up interest in manufacturing. It is a
challenge that is pretty well documented across my district in
northern Indiana. Lots of manufacturing, and lots of
manufacturing jobs, and no bodies to put in them. I am
interested to learn more about this ITEP program that you
started with Ivy Tech.
You mentioned 45 others companies have joined ITEP. How do
you work with those other companies, and are the other
companies competitors or in different industries? And then are
the students, when they are shadowing somebody, are they just
shadowing you, you know, some of these other competitors? How
does that whole process work?
Ms. PILARSKI. Thanks for the question. We are really proud
of the program. Ivy Tech--we sort of divide up the
responsibility for this important initiative among the folks
that have the competencies. So, there is not a lot of
interaction that we have with the other 45 companies, we
interact directly with Ivy Tech. Ivy Tech is the organization
that determines the curriculum that the students are taught in
sophomore year, which eventually leads to a certified
production certificate for them.
What we do is we expose these students to manufacturing.
So, beginning in their senior year, we invite them into our
plants, and we have a very structured 12-week program. So, they
come to us a few days each week, they have two rotations
through two of our plants, and they have three assignments in
total. And they are given coaches because the most important
thing we are going to teach these kids in 12 weeks isn't
necessarily technical skills; we are going to teach them soft
skills.
So, we want to make sure they know they need to show up at
work every day, that they need to be there on time, that they
need to be part of an important team. They need to ask
questions. All of those kinds of things that may be very
natural to a lot of kids aren't always natural to all kids. So
that is our role.
So, we expose these kids to manufacturing. They make it
through their associate's degree. Right now, we have some that
have come back to us now doing summer internships, who we think
have great promise, and our hope is that we start offering them
full-time jobs when they complete their associate's degree.
Mrs. WALORSKI. So, given the fact that these are young
people coming right out of high school and they really don't
have these skills that you are trying to teach them, soft
skills, show up, it is important. How do you do that with a
young person that comes in the door? Is this competitive where
they are competing with each other? Are you incentivizing them
when they do something correct that they have got what you are
trying to tell them? What do you do?
Ms. PILARSKI. We assign mentors. We assign one-on-one
mentors. Every one of these kids has a mentor that follows them
through these assignments. And those mentors are meeting with
the kids. They are giving them guidance. They are talking to
the supervisors that have exposure to the kids. So, we are
giving them sort of real-time feedback and help molding them as
they make it through this 12-week process. And that is really
the way you do it. You team up--you really find support and
assistance in that way. We find that to be the most effective.
Mrs. WALORSKI. I appreciate it.
I yield back, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
Chairman SMITH. Thank you.
Next, recognizing for 5 minutes, Ms. Chu.
Ms. CHU. Ms. Pilarski and Mr. Johnson, I would like to
direct my first questions to both of you. Many of the programs
you highlighted today are offered to youth in high school or
individuals in the early stages of their career. However, there
are other populations that are willing to work and able to work
but would have difficulty following those pathways.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, 25 million
individuals in the U.S. are considered limited English
proficient, or LEP. In my region of the Los Angeles metro area,
26 percent of the total working age population is LEP. In
addition, 47 percent of adults who speak Asian or Pacific
Island languages are LEP, which is the highest percentage of
any linguistic group, including Spanish-speaking individuals.
These statistics are very relevant to today's discussion
because LEP individuals are more likely to live in poverty than
English proficient individuals. In 2015, about 23 percent of
LEP individuals lived in households with an annual income below
the official federal poverty line, which is nearly twice as
high as the share of English proficient persons.
Ms. CHU. Now, there are companies that are helping LEPs
gain English skills to help fill jobs. The Boston Globe
reported in January of 2017 that companies who are facing
worker shortages have started offering English classes free of
charge at work sites for its employees. Employees are paid the
normal wage while they are in class. Companies are finding that
investing in English skills and other kinds of training helps
them retain employees, helps them promote from within the
company, and has helped employers identify workers whose
potential was previously hidden behind a language barrier.
In addition, errors are reduced, and employees can provide
better customer service. Employers are offering this benefit in
a range of industries from hospitals to manufacturing to food
service companies. So, this is one way that employees can close
the job gap.
I would like to know; do you have people who work for you
in your companies for whom English is not the first language?
And do you offer services such as this?
Mr. JOHNSON. Thank you for the question.
Specifically, within the organization, what I would better
refer that to is the people that are on the boards that we work
with. So, the first thing that we must do is to be sure that we
have a strong industry partnership along with education to
identify what are the critical crafts for the area. If we have
done that, we have half of the battle. But a part of that, and
what is missing in most of those boards, is connecting with the
neighborhood centers around the area that have the direct
connection to people that are underrepresented and to people
that are in impoverished areas that need these additional
services. Including those organizations onto the board allows
us to find out what are these additional barriers that we need
to address within the education portion because just enticing
them to come to this path is not the end of the equation. The
other part of that is the quality part of it, and what are the
skills that they need? And if there are some underlying
foundational skills that are necessary like what you are
talking about, it helps us to know in advance what those are,
to put into the curriculum.
Ms. CHU. So, Mr. Johnson, I am talking about the English
language skills. So, are those being addressed?
Mr. JOHNSON. Yes. If that is identified as a critical
skill, as a skill that is absent in the community that we are
trying to employ people, then it is put into the curriculum as
well.
Ms. CHU. Ms. Pilarski.
Ms. PILARSKI. In southeastern Michigan, we also struggle
with a population of folks that have non-English speaking
skills. And one of the ways that we address it is through our
partnership with United Way of Southeastern Michigan. So, we
have been together partnering with United Way for 65 years. We
have a very longstanding relationship. And they have some
unique and specific programs where they focus on folks who have
trouble with English. Our employees this year contributed over
$5 million to support programs like these with United Way of
Southeastern Michigan.
So, I can certainly relate to the challenges that you have.
We find it ourselves in our region, and we think the right
approach is to partner with professionals like United Way to
help us move through that issue because those folks, you are
exactly right, would be very good folks for us to consider for
positions in our plants.
Ms. CHU. I applaud you for that partnership. It certainly
can make sure that we utilize these people to the greatest
degree possible by addressing their English language skills and
certainly can provide a more robust workforce. Thank you.
Chairman SMITH. Thank you. Next up, we have Mr. Bishop who
is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. BISHOP. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all the panelists for being here today. Thank
you for taking the time out of your busy days to participate in
this and helping to craft public policy and really lead
discussion on this issue that is so vitally important to the
future of this country.
Each and every one of us has constituents that we
represent. Personally, I have been all over my district talking
to companies big and small about issues that are of concern to
them.
This is the primary issue that I hear from every single
business, and so we really have got to get creative about this,
and we really have got to work together to figure out how to
change the direction of what we are doing now and really,
reinventing the wheel.
In Michigan, as Ms. Pilarski knows, we are the motor city,
and we had some problems about 10 years ago. We had a really,
really bad recession. Manufacturing jobs left our State, and
they did in great numbers. We are just now rebuilding. Ten
years later, I think you can say that, as many people do, that
Michigan is the comeback State and Detroit is a comeback city.
One of our biggest problems, and some people say it is probably
a good problem to have, is our economy is doing so well that we
need workers, and we have to find a way to fill them.
So, Ms. Pilarski, I know that Fiat Chrysler has done such a
great job in bringing this intuitive new process, it is brand-
new on how you look for employees and fill spots. You are the
H.R. director of a rather large--if anybody has an issue or is
struggling right now or has challenges, it has got to be
someone like you who sees it from every angle.
There are so many things to talk about, but can you tell me
a little bit about the United Way? I know you just started a
discussion with Ms. Chu, but I would like to hear more.
Ms. PILARSKI. Yes. We actually feel like part of the
resolution to this problem is partnering with community
organizations like the United Way. As I said, we have been
together with them for 65 years, and we understand very well
the programs that they have, what they have done, where they
have been successful. And so, for example, they have a program
they call College and Career Pathways. And what they do, these
are for high school students, and they prepare kids for life
after high school whether it is a two or four year degree or it
is something else.
So, for us, that is very natural for us to connect to a
program like that because we have the jobs for those folks,
those high schoolers who aren't going to go right and start
their four year college degree. So, for us, understanding their
programs and then being able to figure out where we connect is
really, really important.
The other thing, one of the things in our plants that can
be a problem for us is absenteeism. And if you really drill
down on that issue, you find that our employees struggle with
some things like transportation, reliable transportation,
childcare, other things, and United Way has wraparound services
to help employees do that.
I said that we have been partnering with United Way for 65
years. For 64 years it was a one-way thing where we were
raising money and providing it to United Way, and this is the
first year in 65 years that we are asking for support back
because of the situation that we are dealing with regarding the
jobs gap.
Mr. BISHOP. It is admirable. On behalf of my constituent
base in southeast Michigan and the State of Michigan, I am so
grateful to Fiat Chrysler for your leadership in this area.
You also mentioned in your testimony, and also, I indicated
in the introduction, that you are thinking about taking away
the requirement for college education for your supervisors. We
have many students in this country, many young people who have
significant debt in that 18- to 24-year-old gap that are most
likely not to have a job, and so we are facing a fundamental
crisis here.
Tell us a little bit about your decision to take away that
degree requirement for supervisors.
Ms. PILARSKI. Yes, and we are talking specifically about
production supervisors, so these are folks in our plants that
generally have responsibility for a team of about 40 people
that would lead maybe five or six different work activities. In
the past, we have required a four year degree for those folks,
and we have too many positions that are open.
What we are finding is that when we bring a new hire on to
the assembly line who doesn't need a college degree, we bring
them in as a team member, and for those who have the interest,
they can aspire to be team leaders which they are then managing
about six folks. We are finding that these folks are a really
good pipeline into these production supervisor positions, but
they don't have the college degree. So, we just connected the
dots on that and said, we need to rethink what our minimum
requirements are because we really have the capability in these
employees, and we need to leverage that and that is what really
drove the decision.
Mr. BISHOP. Thank you very much. I yield back.
Chairman SMITH. In the interest of time, we want to move
things along given the vote schedule.
Next, I will recognize Ms. Sewell for 5 minutes.
Ms. SEWELL. Thank you, Chairman Smith and Ranking Member
Davis. I want to thank our witnesses for being here today. My
constituents in Alabama know that my top legislative priority
is jobs and workforce development. Every year, during the
August district work period, I host a job fair, an annual job
fair, that moves around between my urban parts and my rural
parts of my district given the fact that there are different
needs in different parts of the district. But there are very
real barriers that obstruct individuals from entering or
staying in the workforce.
After every job fair, I hear from my employers that there
are many enthusiastic applicants but that the job openings go
unfilled because many of the candidates don't have the proper
skills or training to qualify to fill those jobs.
That is why I think it is really important that the work
that you all are doing in terms of workforce development and
apprenticeship programs and internship programs are critically
important to our ability to make sure that we not only close
the jobs gap but the opportunity gap that exists in this
country.
Policymakers, Republicans and Democrats, support
apprenticeship programs and internships because employers can
fill labor gaps, and workers can earn while they learn. But
apprenticeships are scarce in today's economy. Last year, fewer
than 50,000 Americans graduated from a registered
apprenticeship program. Moreover, I have learned that often
they don't reach women, minorities, and rural youth as
effectively as they do other kinds of applicants.
After speaking to my constituents and employers, I found
that there are two reasons for this. First, low-income families
need stability to be effective participants in workforce
development programs. If a family can't afford childcare or
they don't have access to transportation, housing, or
healthcare, it becomes almost impossible for an individual to
focus on succeeding in a workforce development program.
In my district, where the average median household income
for a family of four is less than $35,000, working families
don't earn enough to make ends meet without assistance. So, if
Congress and this Administration is serious about addressing
the skills gap, we must strengthen funding for wraparound
services so that those who have fallen on hard times have the
ability and the opportunity to pull themselves out of poverty.
Secondly, I believe the reason why we see fewer youth--
rural youth, minorities, and women in some of these programs is
because workforce development programs do not serve some of our
most disparate populations programs like I think programs like
TANF, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, is not
properly designed to provide workforce training and education
to its recipients. Since its inception, TANF has been sold as a
program that helps transition impoverished Americans, but,
unfortunately, very few TANF dollars go to education and
training, making it very difficult for TANF recipients to find
good, long-term employment.
This Committee must focus on making sure that workforce
development becomes the central part of TANF's mission. And
that is what we are doing here today is learning more about
what works as far as workforce development programs and what we
can learn from them.
So, I guess my question: I will start with you, Ms.
Pilarski, I in Alabama, we consider ourselves the Detroit of
the South because we have a lot of automobile manufacturers in
our district. Likewise, in my district, I have Mercedes-Benz
and Hyundai, so I am quite interested in the program that you
have outlined.
Can you talk to us about best practices and what workforce
development and apprenticeship best practices that you have
learned that we can maybe glean to government assistance
programs like TANF?
Ms. PILARSKI. You know, I will agree with you that these
apprenticeship programs and co-ops and all that kind of stuff,
these are very small numbers. They are very, very, very small
numbers.
Ms. SEWELL. And often they are more than--your training
program is a 2-year program. TANF only is 12 months. We have to
really start thinking about how we are designing these programs
in order to make sure that we are addressing the real skills
gap that exists.
Ms. PILARSKI. Right. I agree. Like I mentioned before, I
think when we talk about apprenticeship or development of folks
coming into the organization, we really leverage these
mentoring relationships. We really leverage these cohort groups
of folks with similar experiences and similar skills coming in.
Ms. SEWELL. They can learn from each other.
Ms. PILARSKI. Yes. It is really important, and especially
for young kids, coming from schools, they are used to those----
Ms. SEWELL. I am running out of time. I wanted to ask Dr.
Lustig, wraparound services like having access to childcare and
access to transportation, how critical is that in these
programs?
Mr. LUSTIG. Those are the most significant barriers. One of
the biggest barriers for women accessing treatment is the need
for childcare. Most agencies and services won't allow a woman
to become stabilized without childcare, and that is a
tremendous barrier.
So, one of the things we do at Haymarket Center is as mom
is going through our job training program, we are offering an
onsite daycare center.
Chairman SMITH. I am sorry to interrupt, but we are kind of
pressed for time.
Next recognized for 5 minutes is Mr. Reichert.
Mr. REICHERT. Ms. Shapiro, how long have you been working
in this field in your community?
Ms. SHAPIRO. Twenty years.
Mr. REICHERT. Twenty years. Dr. Lustig, how long have you
been doing your outreach work?
Mr. LUSTIG. Twenty-five years.
Mr. REICHERT. So, in your 45 years of experience, what has
changed since you started your work and we find ourselves in
the situation that we find ourselves in today?
Ms. Shapiro, first.
Ms. SHAPIRO. Broad question. I think, in some ways, the
work has gotten harder. In New York City, even just 7 or 8
years ago, the number of out-of-school and out-of-work adults
was about 187,000. That is just in New York City.
Mr. REICHERT. What was it 20 years ago, do you remember?
Roughly.
Ms. SHAPIRO. Maybe a little bit less than that but still
high. And so----
Mr. REICHERT. So, no progress.
Ms. SHAPIRO. Not a lot. And now it actually has dropped a
bit. So now it is down to 136,000. It is still a huge number,
but it has dropped a bit. But the young people who are sort of
left behind, who are sort of left disconnected are the ones who
need the most support. And so young people who are aging out of
foster care, young people who have involved with the justice
system, young people who are struggling with mental illness,
those are a lot of the barriers that we are trying to address
now.
Mr. REICHERT. I get that. Doctor, what do you see, after
your 25 years of hard work?
Mr. LUSTIG. We don't see a lot that has changed. But what
we have seen is that the programs that the Federal Government
has put out, we have learned a lot, and we have found that some
of these work development programs, these job training
programs, really do work, but they are never brought to scale.
Mr. REICHERT. One of the comments you made was this is
generational. That is what I am trying to get at. I know--I
agree: the programs, the treatment, the medical, the
psychological, the physical medical treatments, and help that
we can give people, job training, soft skills. I have got a
question mark around that, learning disabilities. I am
dyslexic. I barely graduated from high school. I have 2 years
of college and look where I ended up: God has punished me. No.
I am proud to serve.
But the point is that what is happening--for me, it is what
is happening in the family. I was a cop for 33 years. I ran
away from home when I was a senior in high school. I lived in
an old car. I went to school every day. I am trying to figure
out why. I think it was football and girls was the reason I was
there.
We used to have home economics class, wood shop, metal
shop, and machine shop, and we don't have those in our schools
today. We need to go back to the basics, I think, and what can
we do, especially in the foster care world too. I was a foster
grandparent and an adoptive grandparent, et cetera. There are
so many things that are happening within the family that create
or not happening within the family that create the situation
that we are in now that is happening in the school or not
happening in our schools that are creating the sadness that we
see that you have seen for 45 years total.
What can we do to prevent? Because I am about prevention.
Instead of--we are playing catchup. And your numbers are
essentially the same. What can we do for prevention?
Mr. LUSTIG. First and foremost, when you look at your
prevention programs, most prevention programs in many States
have either been cut or eliminated. So that is the first piece
to understand.
Mr. REICHERT. At the local, city, county, State level?
Mr. LUSTIG. Yes. But what is the key with prevention is
that we have to get far enough upstream to really have
prevention work. That is what we are not seeing today. So, when
you take a look at, take addiction that is impacting so many
families as it relates to jobs----
Mr. REICHERT. I have seen that.
Mr. LUSTIG. There are so many key pieces to this. The key
piece to understanding addiction is, even though we have dumped
billions of dollars into the opioid epidemic, the issue as it
relates to stigma of people seeking treatment is still alive
and well today. So, you have to get your prevention programs.
Mr. REICHERT. What about the soft skills though? That is
stuff that my parents taught me at home, the teachers taught me
at home: to show up for work or to show up on time, 8 hours
work for 8 hours pay.
Ms. Shapiro, real quick.
Ms. SHAPIRO. I think the focus really has to be, and for
us, it is sort of on positive youth development, and that is
prevention for us. It is getting to young people early,
providing them opportunities, connecting them to positive
relationships with caring adults, providing that wraparound
support, believing in them, and helping them chart a course for
their future, which as we have talked about in this hearing may
or may not involve college but can certainly involve positive
paths either through education or through careers.
Mr. REICHERT. Thank you.
I yield back.
Chairman SMITH. Next is Mr. LaHood for 5 minutes or less.
Mr. LAHOOD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I appreciate your doing this series before our Subcommittee
on the jobs gap and employers' need for qualified workers. It
is so important to our economy and where we are at today.
I want to thank all the witnesses for being here today for
spending some time with us and sharing your perspective.
Mr. Johnson, I had a couple of questions for you.
In your testimony, you talk about a strategy for workforce
development and collaborative synergy. I have heard mixed
reviews about the workforce system and one-stop centers. In my
State, they call them Illinois Worknet Centers. Given that you
operate facilities I believe in 29 States, what has your
experience been in working with the workforce system? That is
number one.
Secondly, my understanding is that the workforce system, or
WIOA, is supposed to be oriented toward connecting people with
in-demand jobs and working with employers in some of the same
ways we have heard in your testimony.
Is that currently happening?
Mr. JOHNSON. Yes, that is currently happening. But the key,
I believe, is to connect those workforce centers with the
workforce boards that industries are leading together as a
group. Getting us all together to this workforce development
equation that I mentioned is the only way for everyone to
understand it, to be able to follow it. For example, let's say
that one of my BASF sites or the site leader says that they
decide they need three electrical technicians over the next 5
and 10 years. Well, to get three, we have to credential three.
But to credential three, you have to enroll six, because not
everyone makes it through the program. To enroll six, we have
to talk to 25 because we don't convince everyone to take the
path.
That system is what is happening today with individuals
worried about that end-part of the pipeline.
If we do that, the problem is we are never going to supply
what we are trying to get because a lot of those people who are
graduating with those credentials may get hired by someone
else.
The better bet is for us to work with our regional
partners, our industry partners in the area, and decide how
many electrical technicians do we need as a group for this
region so we know how many to enroll, so we know how many to
speak to. If we get that math correct, we create a pipeline
that fulfills us all instead of us only worrying about our
individual needs.
Mr. LAHOOD. When you describe that deficiency, is there a
public policy answer to that? Is there something government
should or shouldn't be doing? Or is that something that is
solved in the private sector?
Mr. JOHNSON. Well, it is a bigger answer than I have time
for today, but the answer is absolutely yes.
One of the primary things that I believe that public policy
can address is educational funding messaging. I talk about the
message a lot during my testimony, parents, teachers, everyone,
but that would include our policy does not communicate to kids,
what jobs are available. If I as a young student go to apply
and get a Pell grant, whenever I get that Pell grant, it
doesn't tell me that I can use it for just these particular
jobs, but that is what it should do. Right now, if you get
qualified for a Pell grant, you can use it for a master's
degree in basket weaving if you want to. But you are probably
not going to get a job in that.
If we change policy to where educational funding is based
upon job availability projections, we are sending a message
each time to each student whenever they fill out their federal
application for student financial aid, that, yes, I received
this money, but I might not want to go in this particular
direction because they don't say there is going to be any jobs
available.
Mr. LAHOOD. Lastly, as the world's largest chemical
producer in the world, can you talk a little about BASF, how
you balance the need for labor when unemployment is so low with
safety concerns in your facilities?
Mr. JOHNSON. I would hate to say the word ``balance against
safety'' at any time. Safety is number one at all times. But we
do address the need for labor by the urgency at which we take
action and join with our industry partners.
The urgency of what is happening now and what we project to
see happening because 11,000 baby boomers turn 70 every single
24 hours beginning last year is something that we have to take
action on now and, again, as I mentioned earlier, not put the
snooze button on this jobs gap issue. So, we are taking the
urgency extremely seriously at this moment to prepare for
something we don't think is quite affecting us yet. We believe
that a lot of baby boomers have decided to stay in the
workforce for a number of years longer than they would have
because of the last 5 to 10 years of market downturns when they
thought they were going to retire, didn't because their 401(k)s
just weren't where they thought it would be. By the time it
came back, they realized: I don't have to retire. But we are
learning that, by the time they turn 70, they are rethinking
that decision.
Mr. LAHOOD. Thank you.
Chairman SMITH. Thank you.
Mr. Schweikert.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
This is an area I have a huge fascination so forgive me if
we bounce all over the place data-wise. I actually have the CBO
report in front of me that is talking about our economic growth
and those things. It turns out they consider the single biggest
barrier, the capping that we are--the ceiling we are hitting up
against is our labor force participation numbers. And within
that, it was shocking. You just talked about seniors. When you
actually look at some of the labor force participation numbers,
how many of our younger people aren't actually entering the
labor force.
I struggle with some of this because just what I think 10
days ago sitting right where you are sitting, I had a gentleman
from Arizona, a three-time convicted felon, took on some
electrical training classes from an electrical contractor in
prison, solely nongovernment, because they were so desperate
for workers, and they are having this amazing retention rate.
Remember this is a young man who was an addict. But bless
him. As he said, one of the quotes, and it is burned in my
head, is: I am working so many hours and I am so busy, I
haven't had a chance to relapse.
In several months he is up to $22 an hour.
And having a mother who was a substance abuse counselor
where we never knew who was coming to Thanksgiving dinner, it
turns out being busy sometimes is an amazing antidote to that
and showing up at your meetings.
If I came to you right now and said: This is the
opportunity we were dreaming of a few years ago, there are
jobs. A few years ago, our complaint was there weren't jobs.
People are moving to very bad behavior because they have no
place to go. We can't use that excuse today. We have lots of
places for them to go.
What are we working? Is it Ms. Shapiro? Did you say you
were seeing actually in some of your population that you are
down to what, 130,000?
Ms. SHAPIRO. In New York City.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. My curiosity is it was a measurable number.
Ms. SHAPIRO. In New York City, there are 136,000 out-of-
school out-of-work young people.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. What was it at its peak a few years ago?
Ms. SHAPIRO. It was 187,000.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. So what positive happened in that
population? How do we keep doing more of that?
Ms. SHAPIRO. I think there has been progress with both
additional public resources. And in New York City, there are
also a lot of private resources that are dedicated to workforce
development. So, the programs that have been set up, and there
is a good infrastructure of job training programs in the city
have worked----
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Could you share with me--I am sorry; I know
I am interrupting it is but it is the life of living on a
clock--are you seeing the number of businesses just like our
example last week with the young man who is changing his life
around, it was a business that needed a certain electrical
talent. They trained him to that talent and guaranteed him a
job upon his release date whereas--and I would like to actually
submit it to the record. I have the Labor Department inspector
general's report on the Job Corps, and it is heartbreaking how
badly the auditor general said it is failing the very
populations it is supposed to be serving.
Chairman SMITH. Without objection.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. I think it is important to see that. Both
right and left want solutions to this. Sometimes we may come at
it from different directions.
What do you see working most effectively right now?
Ms. SHAPIRO. Our partnership with Gap is a great example,
but we have a lot of other industry partnerships as well. So,
we have a culinary industry partnership, an IT industry
partnership. We are training young people for EMT jobs. We are
working with the masonry and historical preservation industry.
And so, these industry partnerships and employer partnerships
are working. It is just there are a lot of young people who are
left behind who need more support and more prep----
Mr. SCHWEIKERT [continuing]. Are you sometimes taking
someone who may have a bit of a dodgy past, and are you
accepting them, training them, hoping they are showing up at
their meetings? What are you doing?
Mr. STAUB. Yes. We have hired some folks who have had a not
so great past and entering them in to our finishing department
where we train them and see how they do there, and we can give
them the skills to move forward and do computer operating
machinery or other skills, welder, or whatever is needed and
what path they are interested in.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Johnson.
Mr. JOHNSON. I just have a comment. The bottom line comes
down to this, either we have truly a second chance society or
we don't. And part of the barrier for people with need for a
second chance has to do with how we ask them if they are
available or if they are okay to work. We ask them questions
like, ``have you ever,'' instead of, ``have you in the last 7
years.''
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Chairman, I know I am way over time,
but you are actually seeing some really interesting stuff in
the data. Felons, people with some really difficult pasts are
getting jobs.
How do we, as policymakers, make it so if someone needs to
go to their 12-step meeting over lunch, that that is embraced?
It is almost a rethinking, and I am hoping this labor force
shortage is making a difference in our society.
Chairman SMITH. There is considerable interest in these
win-win scenarios of bringing folks off the sidelines and
focusing on the future.
Next up is Mr. Curbelo for 5 minutes.
Mr. CURBELO. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I am grateful to you and to the Ranking Member and to
really the entire Committee for dedicating so much time to this
issue, to figuring out how we can work together as an
institution with the private sector, with local and State
partners, to improve the lives of disconnected youth, a lot of
these young people who want to make their contribution to the
world, to their communities, but just can't figure out how. And
all of you who are here today in some way are dedicating a lot
of your own personal time to figuring out a way forward for
these young people so they can integrate into our society and
be productive. I think you should all be commended for it.
I am especially grateful because, in south Florida, we have
a wonderful organization called Youth Co-Op that partners with
Gap's This Way Ahead program to promote the well-being of at-
risk youth in the community through education, employment, and
empowerment.
But a question I have for Mr. Ard, for Mr. Staub, and for
anyone else who wants to answer it, and I think it was touched
upon earlier, but we should explore it more deeply.
The Federal Government, does it have a visible role? Is it
a reliable partner?
You work on this every day.
What difference is the Federal Government making in terms
of helping these young people find their pathway to success?
Mr. Ard, if you want to take it first, please.
Mr. ARD. It is definitely a big question and one that I
think we are grappling with on a pretty regular basis in my
company. I think there is opportunity for all of us to do more.
What we are doing currently is certainly on a more localized
level with organizations for example with Youth Co-ops and
things, something along those lines, The Door, our Boys and
Girls Club. So, this is certainly an opportunity for the
Federal Government to do more. Otherwise, it is a patchwork of
experiences that you are being strung together and look
different State-by-State.
Mr. CURBELO. Mr. Staub.
Mr. STAUB. There certainly is, like the Perkins bill that
is currently in front of the Senate, things like that, to help
the community and technical colleges get the funding and
resources they need to have the equipment that they can train
their students on. And there is opportunity too for the Federal
Government to reach out to the education system to let them
help spread the message that you don't have to get a 4-year
degree.
Today, the average attorney makes about the same as the
average machinist when you figure out the college debt and the
timeframe when they can earn their highest wages.
It is very surprising that most people don't understand
that, and we have an opportunity to share that message that
many educators don't know, and we can help educate them too.
Mr. CURBELO. Mr. Chairman, I think this is an interesting
point because American taxpayers contribute billions of dollars
every year to support those who are in need. And I think most
Americans really do it proudly because we all want to help
people who are struggling who need a hand up. But I think it is
pretty clear from the testimony today and from all the
different questions and answers that we have heard, that we can
do a lot better as a Federal Government.
Obviously, a great emphasis on education. I fully agree. I
think we need to stop lying to young people by telling them
there that there is only one pathway to success, which is a
traditional 4-year degree. It works for a lot of people. It
worked for me, but it does not work for everyone. We have
created a stigma that is very dangerous.
I hope from this Committee we can continue supporting those
efforts to present the full menu of education options and
pathways to success.
And then I also think, in a lot of our social welfare
programs, we need to do better and target them and make sure we
are partnering with organizations and initiatives like the ones
represented here today so that we can actually help empower
people so they can grow independent of the government and kind
of blaze their own pathway and find their role in the world.
So, Mr. Chairman, I am going to be generous and efficient
here the way I expect our federal programs will be some day and
give you back about 45 seconds.
Thank you. I yield back.
Chairman SMITH. Thank you, Mr. Curbelo.
Thank you to everyone for participating and, to our panel,
for sharing your insights and your expertise. It is vital that
we have these conversations. I think it is just a great
reminder of what is at stake and how we want to focus on
opportunity for the future, and like I said earlier, it is
helping folks leave the sidelines and get in the action,
because I think that it is just a win-win down the line
positive scenario when we can help folks connect with
opportunity for themselves personally, for their communities,
for their families, you name it.
So, thank you again.
I will say that all Members will have 2 weeks to submit
written questions to be answered later in writing. Those
questions and your answers will be made part of the formal
hearing record.
With that, the Subcommittee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 1:23 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
[all]