[House Hearing, 116 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
FIELD HEARING: CENTENNIAL, CO: INNOVATIONS IN THE SCHOOL TO SMALL
BUSINESS PIPELINE
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON INNOVATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
UNITED STATES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
HEARING HELD
NOVEMBER 22, 2019
__________
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Small Business Committee Document Number 116-063
Available via the GPO Website: www.govinfo.gov
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
38-352 WASHINGTON : 2020
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
NYDIA VELAZQUEZ, New York, Chairwoman
ABBY FINKENAUER, Iowa
JARED GOLDEN, Maine
ANDY KIM, New Jersey
JASON CROW, Colorado
SHARICE DAVIDS, Kansas
JUDY CHU, California
MARC VEASEY, Texas
DWIGHT EVANS, Pennsylvania
BRAD SCHNEIDER, Illinois
ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York
ANTONIO DELGADO, New York
CHRISSY HOULAHAN, Pennsylvania
ANGIE CRAIG, Minnesota
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio, Ranking Member
AUMUA AMATA COLEMAN RADEWAGEN, American Samoa, Vice Ranking Member
TROY BALDERSON, Ohio
KEVIN HERN, Oklahoma
JIM HAGEDORN, Minnesota
PETE STAUBER, Minnesota
TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee
ROSS SPANO, Florida
JOHN JOYCE, Pennsylvania
DAN BISHOP, North Carolina
Adam Minehardt, Majority Staff Director
Melissa Jung, Majority Deputy Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Kevin Fitzpatrick, Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
OPENING STATEMENTS
Page
Hon. Jason Crow.................................................. 1
WITNESSES
Ms. Sarah LC Grobbel, Assistant Superintendent, Career &
Innovation, Cherry Creek Schools, Greenwood Village, CO........ 5
Mr. Noel Ginsburg, Founder & CEO, CareerWise Colorado, Denver, CO 7
Mr. Matthew Kaplan, Vice President, Business Development and
Membership, Outdoor Industry Association, Boulder, CO.......... 10
Mr. Garry Edmondson, Program Administrator, Colorado Journeyman &
Apprentice Program IUOE L9, Bennett, CO........................ 12
APPENDIX
Prepared Statements:
Ms. Sarah LC Grobbel, Assistant Superintendent, Career &
Innovation, Cherry Creek Schools, Greenwood Village, CO.... 22
Mr. Noel Ginsburg, Founder & CEO, CareerWise Colorado,
Denver, CO................................................. 25
Mr. Matthew Kaplan, Vice President, Business Development and
Membership, Outdoor Industry Association, Boulder, CO...... 28
Mr. Garry Edmondson, Program Administrator, Colorado
Journeyman & Apprentice Program IUOE L9, Bennett, CO....... 33
Questions for the Record:
None.
Answers for the Record:
None.
Additional Material for the Record:
None.
INNOVATIONS IN THE SCHOOL TO SMALL BUSINESS PIPELINE
----------
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2019
House of Representatives,
Committee on Small Business,
Subcommittee on Innovation and Workforce
Development,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 11:09 a.m., at
Cherry Creek Innovation Campus, 8000 S. Chambers Road,
Englewood, CO, Hon. Jason Crow presiding.
Present: Representative Crow.
Chairman CROW. Good morning. The committee will come to
order. Thank you all for joining us this morning and a special
thanks to the witnesses for being here today. For those in
attendance, I would like to share some background on the
proceedings.
This is a formal field hearing of the House Committee on
Small Business, and due to this format, there is not an
opportunity for questions or public comments from the audience
at this time, but I do want to thank everyone for your
attendance and interest in this issue.
These field hearings are actually a really unique
opportunity and as the Chair of the Innovation and Workforce
Development Subcommittee, what we like to do is just go out
into the community, go back to our districts, and then come to,
you know, amazing innovative places like this and it allows us
to actually collect best practices and things that are being
done out in the district and throughout the country, get those
facts and issues into the Congressional record so that we can
make better informed decision in D.C. We can work with the
staff to identify issues and promote legislation.
So this is a really valuable way to do that and we
appreciate your participation in that process. So as the
Chairman of the Subcommittee on Innovation and Workforce
Development on the Small Business Committee, one of my goals
this year has been to look at the labor needs for small
businesses and entrepreneurs and finding ways to expand
educational opportunities for our workers to succeed in the
21st century.
I strongly believe that small businesses are the backbone
of America and I am committed to help our small businesses find
and train the talent that they need to succeed. Over the past
decade, our economy has seen a dramatic shift in terms of work
force needs especially here in Colorado. Similar to many
economic metrics, Colorado is leading the way with a 2.7
percent unemployment rate, even lower in our Congressional
district, more than a full percentage point below the national
average.
But the ability to continue to expand businesses and grow
businesses is being substantially hindered by ongoing problems
that my colleagues and I in the Small Business Committee hear
about from many small businesses all the time who are simply
unable to find the qualified workers and the workforce that
they need to meet their growing needs. An aging workforce
combined with a growing skills gap among our current workforce
in a broken immigration system is keeping all firms from
reaching their full potential.
In their latest report released earlier this month, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics found that there are currently more
open jobs than people seeking to fill them. This poses a
problem for many businesses who cannot find the talent that
they need to grow and thrive.
According to Pew research, 10,000 baby boomers will turn 65
every day for the next decade, and while demand for jobs and
clean and renewable energy and construction remain high, small
firms are having a harder time finding workers to meet this
demand in many industries. These reasons emphasize the
importance of improving our education system and finding
innovative ways to address workforce needs. This can happen by
creating a massive workforce mobilization effort through public
and private partnerships at all levels of education to prepare
for the future work in our country.
From the deficiency of construction workers and technicians
who could retrofit every building in America for energy
efficiency and transform our energy sources to combat the
climate crisis, to the lack of healthcare workers that could
expand access to veterans and children in even the most rural
places in America, all industries are feeling the strain of an
adequate pathways to employment.
We are seeing the shortcomings of traditional American
career pathways in real time. This country's crushing student
debt burden of $1.5 trillion decreases demand and limits our
young people's ability to start families and buy houses, take
risks, or become entrepreneurs. While still valuable for many
industries, four-year educational institutions can often
neglect to train workers for highly skilled and middle income
skilled jobs, which make up 47 percent of all jobs here in
Colorado.
These middle skills professions are in a variety of
industries and support the jobs in construction, healthcare,
transportation, and public safety, many of which are dominated
by small businesses. Furthermore, 86 percent of our employers
see the skills gap as a threat to their businesses. The
inability for small firms to attract, hire, and retain
qualified workers make the U.S. less competitive and
incentivize many businesses to take their operations overseas.
For many labor intensive businesses that cannot be
outsourced, they are forced to rely on worker visas, which are
in short supply and high demand, unlikely to increase under the
current Administration. Luckily, our State is seeking to change
the conversation on how we educate our young people for the
future. We are innovating new pathways in the school to
business pipeline that can empower people and expand their
career opportunities throughout life.
And there is really no better example frankly of this work
than where we are sitting today, which is really a model in my
view in the country for how we can do this at a local level. I
am very proud to be here and to share this with the rest of the
country.
Apprenticeships in career and technical education, or CTE,
are becoming more attractive ways of developing our future
workforce. Not only are they less costly than four year
college, they combine classroom learning with on-the-job
training, maximizing engagement and providing a fuller learning
experience.
I hope that today's discussion will shed light on the ways
apprenticeships and training programs, especially those in
Colorado, are revolutionizing workforce development, helping
small businesses obtain the workers they need. I look forward
to following up with my colleagues in Washington and work hard
to bring down educational barriers to entry and expand the
American workforce.
Now, I will just take a moment to explain how this hearing
will work. First, I will introduce all our witnesses and then
each will be given some time to make an opening statement that
summarizes the written testimony. We usually use a five-minute
time for this and in D.C. where we are pretty stringent about
it, but since we are back here in Colorado, we will be less
stringent. But I still do ask that you try to abide by the
five-minute rule to the best of your ability.
Now, I would like to introduce our witnesses for today's
panel. Our first witness is Ms. Sarah Grobbel, Assistant
Superintendent of Career and Innovation Campus of Cherry Creek
Schools. Since graduating from Michigan State University--I am
a Badger so. We had the big ten thing. It is okay.
Since graduating from MSU with a degree in Mathematics and
Chemistry, she has spent the last 20 years serving the Cherry
Creek School District, first as an Educator, then as an
Assistant Principal and Principal. Your experience and wisdom
and education in innovation has led her to our current position
as the Assistant Superintendent of the Cherry Creek School
District focusing on innovative ways to educate students.
She has also played a critical role in establishing the
Cherry Creek Innovation Campus where we sit today, where we are
holding this hearing today. This is a new 117,000 square foot
campus opening just this August offering many areas of study
from construction management to cooking and airplane
maintenance and cybersecurity. Thank you for being here.
Our second witness is Mr. Noel Ginsburg, the Founder and
CEO of CareerWise Colorado. Mr. Ginsburg has decades of
experience as an entrepreneur and serving Coloradans through
many initiatives. Since founding Intertech Plastics while in
his senior year at the University of Denver, he has received
the Martin Luther King Social Responsibility Business Award in
1995, the Daniel Richie Award for Ethics and Business in 1998,
the 2001 Leadership Denver Outstanding Alumni Award, the 2012
Goodwill Community Leader Award, and the Anti-Defamation
League's 2016 Civil Rights Award.
Well, I find myself asking what I have accomplished in my
life compared to you, Noel. Additionally, Mr. Ginsburg is a
member of the State Economic Development Commission and the
Colorado Workforce Development Council, a Board member of the
Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, and the Chair of the Denver
Public Schools College and Career Pathways Council. Continuing
his civic-minded leadership, he is the Founding Executive Chair
of the Board for CareerWise Colorado, a statewide nonprofit
organization dedicated to building the middle class by closing
the skills gap through experiential learning.
And I would also add a dear friend. So thank you Noel for
joining us. Our third witness is Mr. Matthew Kaplan, Vice
President of Business Development and Mentorship at the Outdoor
Industry Association. Mr. Kaplan has an MBA in International
Business from Thunderbird, and upon graduation quickly combined
as passions for the outdoors with his educational background.
Working in the outdoor industry for over 20 years, Mr. Kaplan
has worked and outdoor electronics world, starting the outdoor
division of ACR Electronics.
As President and Managing Director of Suunto North America
and top positions at Footbalance North America, Timberland, and
Ibex Outdoor Clothing, and as Vice President at the Outdoor
Industry Association, Mr. Kaplan is overseen organizational
revenue objectives, new business development, and revenue
diversification.
He also works with other Industries defined areas of
alignment as well as university partners across the country
launching the first of its kind continuing education platform
for the outdoor industry. Thank you for being here today.
Our fourth witness is Mr. Garry Edmondson, the
Apprenticeship Administrator for IUOE Local 9, Colorado's
journeyman and apprenticeship training. Mr. Edmondson has
nearly 40 years of experience as a member of the International
Union of Operating Engineers.
He has spent his time as a dirt hand, a certified crane
operator, apprenticeship program instructor, and administrator,
and as a certified crane tester, and served on the National
Board for the Crane Operator Certifying Program. Mr. Edmondson
has spent his career in the heavy equipment operation side of
construction. Thank you for being here today.
As somebody that worked in construction to help pay my way
through college, I love the fact that we both started out
working as hands on construction sites, and I have a special
place in my heart for your work.
So, thank you for being here today. Ms. Grobbel, you are
recognized for five minutes.
STATEMENTS OF SARAH LC GROBBEL, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT,
CAREER AND INNOVATION, CHERRY CREEK SCHOOLS; NOEL GINSBURG,
FOUNDER AND CEO, CAREERWISE COLORADO; MATTHEW KAPLAN, VICE
PRESIDENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND MEMBERSHIP, OUTDOOR
INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION; GARRY EDMONDSON, PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR,
COLORADO JOURNEYMAN AND APPRENTICE PROGRAM IUOE L9
STATEMENT OF SARAH LC GROBBEL
Ms. GROBBEL. Thank you. Chairman Jason Crow, Ranking Member
Balderson, and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for
holding this hearing at the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus in
Cherry Creek School District as part of the Innovations in the
School to Small Business Pipeline. I am honored to offer my
perspective during this time of educational shift in the United
States.
On behalf of the Cherry Creek School District Board of
Education, President Karen Fisher, members, Ms. Kelly Bates,
Ms. Anne Egan, Ms. Angela Garland, and Ms. Janice McDonald, and
Superintendent, Dr. Scott Siegfried, we welcome you to Cherry
Creek Schools and to the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus.
In 2015, the Colorado Department of Education made changes
to the graduation guidelines for the class of 2021. Cherry
Creek Schools seized this opportunity to engage students,
parents, educators, community members, business partners, and
higher education leaders in a conversation regarding the
portrait of a successful graduate in Cherry Creek Schools to
create the vision of Cherry Creek 2021.
It was through this work that Cherry Creek Schools changed
its goals to inclusive excellence and college and career
preparedness and success as we recognized our goal to create
learners who focus on innovation, critical thinking, real world
experiences, project-based learning, relevancy, communication
skills, adaptability, and teamwork.
The Cherry Creek Innovation Campus would be the cornerstone
to this work and my passion project over the next three years.
In November of 2016, the community and stakeholders of Cherry
Creek Schools passed a local bond measure for the capital
project which made the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus a reality
for Cherry Creek Schools.
The pathways include advanced manufacturing, business
services, health and wellness, hospitality and tourism, IT and
STEAM, infrastructure and engineering, and transportation,
includes both aviation and automotive coursework.
The campus is a standalone college and career preparedness
facility accessible for high school students in the Cherry
Creek Schools. With curriculum rooted in real-world skills and
trade certifications ranging from the computer sciences to
aviation to health and wellness as well as college credit
options in all pathways, this facility offers students a new
bridge to college and viable, successful careers.
More importantly, students are not asked to choose between
workforce or college after high school. This programming is for
students going on to two and four-year colleges, military, or
workforce, as well as aiding the student who is still trying to
connect to his or her career passions and interests.
As is the mission of Cherry Creek Schools, the Innovation
Campus was designed to inspire our students to think, to learn,
to achieve, to care from the moment that they walk through the
main entrance. The intentionality in creating a partnership
with industry is what has made this facility stand out across
the country.
We engaged industry partners to help us build the concept
of each pathway as well as the curriculum and instruction.
Principal Mark Morgan and his cadre spent endless hours over
the last two years with our architect, contractor, student
advisory group, community stakeholder group, and our industry
partners to fulfill the vision of 2021 for the Cherry Creek
Schools.
We also used documents like the Colorado Talent Pipeline
Report to guide our pathway choices. We stand on the shoulders
of the pioneer career and technical education teachers in our
district who have built a solid foundation for 21st century
professional coursework in our schools over the last decade.
Our programming includes career exploration, career and
technical education courses tied to the career and technical
education career cluster models, internships, and
apprenticeships. Over the past three years, we have also
participated in Colorado's legislated Career Development
Incentive Program, which recognizes the number of students
earning industry credentials and participating in internships
each year.
We are proud of the work we are doing with CareerWise
Colorado, which you will hear about in just a second, in
creating apprenticeship opportunities for our students. Through
this partnership, we are successfully linking students to
career opportunities with a focus on work-based competencies
and postsecondary education for each apprentice. Our goal is to
create an apprenticeship for each pathway in our career and
technical education coursework.
This fall, we opened our newest apprenticeship, Future
Educator Pathway Apprenticeship. As the employer of the
apprenticeship, we are hiring our current high school students
who would like to pursue a degree in education as
paraprofessionals working part-time in our K-8 schools.
We are also investing in these apprentices by providing
college credit for coursework necessary to earn a teaching
certification down the road. Like many industry partners, we
are excited about the concept of growing our own to create a
pipeline of educators that may help us fill the future job
shortage in education.
The Cherry Creek Innovation Campus opened our doors on
August 12th, to nearly 1,000 students, with another 1,000
students expected next semester. Although we have much to be
proud of at this stage, we recognize our work is not done. We
will continue to focus on creating pathways of purpose for our
students with a formalized individual career and academic plans
for every student from 6th through 12th grade and beyond.
We will also look at future bond measures which will allow
our school district to add additional pathways of purpose for
students in our district as part of Cherry Creek's future
forward strategic planning.
As we continue to strive to be the pipeline for our
students from education to healthy and meaningful careers, we
ask for your help. According to Education Week, the average
per-pupil funding in education across the United States is
$12,756 as of June 2019. This per-pupil spending amount is
adjusted for regional cost differences across States, and it
captures factors such as teacher and staff salaries, classroom
spending, and administration, but not construction or other
capital spending.
Colorado ranks in the bottom five of all States at an
average per pupil funding of $10,053. This discrepancy in
funding has caused many school districts in States like
Colorado to look at local funding sources, especially
partnerships with industry, to maintain the level of excellence
expected by families and community members.
Our success in the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus has been
creating meaningful relationships with industry partners and
higher education to provide our students with curriculum and
instruction grounded in real-world experiences.
We ask that as a committee that you continue to include K-
12 education in workforce development discussions so that we
can continue to grow with you in these conversations. Please
encourage local business to engage with their community
educational partners, and most importantly, focus on better
funding sources for all K-12 schools throughout the country
including and specially the financial support of local
business.
What we have described today has proven to be a significant
return on investment for students, community, industry, and
local economy. We know what we have created together today will
change education tomorrow, because this effort is not just
education or industry but the perfect combination of both.
Thank you for this time.
Chairman CROW. Thank you, Ms. Grobbel.
Mr. Ginsburg, you are recognized for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF NOEL GINSBURG
Mr. GINSBURG. Good afternoon and thank you for coming here
today to learn about apprenticeships, and Sarah, for making
sure that I did graduate from this high school years ago.
Although you probably weren't responsible.
Chairman CROW. Ask how many years ago.
[Laughter.]
Mr. GINSBURG. Thank you. My name--I don't want that in the
Congressional record. My name is Noel Ginsburg. I am the
Founder and Chairman of a local manufacturing company Intertech
Plastics and Intertech Medical, but I am also the Founder and
CEO of CareerWise.
Four years ago, CareerWise set out to build a youth
apprenticeship system here in Colorado and in the United
States. The reason I founded CareerWise is the same reason you
are here today.
And if you take anything away from today's field hearing it
should be this, apprenticeship, in particular youth
apprenticeship, can be transformational. It can transform our
workforce and talent pipelines. It can transform our economy
and middle-class. And most importantly, it can transform the
lives of our young people through opportunity.
Today as a society we are all in on the four-year degree as
an unobstructed path to the middle class, but the reality is
that there are lots of challenges along that path. It only
successfully serves about 25 percent of our young people in
Colorado, and with the rising cost of higher education and
skyrocketing student debt, it is clear those numbers aren't
going to get better anytime soon.
Meanwhile, industry cannot find enough skilled workers to
hire into their early-career roles. This is true of the
construction trades, but it is also just as true in fields like
IT, financial services, and business operations. Even the
workers hired from prestigious schools graduate with the
baseline theoretical knowledge in their fields, take tens of
thousands of dollars and months and months of training in their
practical execution of the job.
Don't misunderstand, higher education is important and
valuable for many people and many professions but not all of
them. Youth apprenticeship offers practical learning, and with
it an illuminated and prestigious path to the middle class that
may or may not run through college.
A CareerWise apprenticeship is designed to intersect with
higher ed. Apprentices graduate the program with the
opportunity to earn up to a semester's worth of debt-free
college credit and a focused perspective on how additional
education can further their career and life goals.
The system we are building at CareerWise is more than just
an education program that turns the workplace into an applied-
learning environment--though it is that too. Modern youth
apprenticeship in America is smart business. It is not
philanthropy. Employers aren't just writing a check and leaving
the details to someone else.
Apprenticeship changes the paradigm of early workforce
development. Industry takes an active role in shaping their
future workforce. Starting as juniors in high school,
apprentices spend part of the week in school in their academic
pursuits, and part of the week in the workplace, learning by
doing and producing valuable work for the employer.
Apprenticeship is different from internship. Whereas
interns are often only in their roles for a short amount of
time, performing low-value tasks, apprentices are trained over
multiple years to step directly into early-career positions. In
the CareerWise model, those roles are all high-growth, high-
wage positions.
The occupations in a CareerWise apprenticeship and the
integration of higher-ed coursework are intended to ensure that
there are no dead ends. Apprenticeship can take a young person
from the workplace to a PhD, or from the classroom to a corner
office. Apprenticeship is an options multiplier. The
opportunity it presents to industry and students is made
possible only through true partnership and dynamic
collaboration.
Evidence that collaboration between these two very
different institutions is not only possible but incredibly
fruitful, as this building we are in right now proves. The
Cherry Creek Innovation Center is the physical manifestation of
just such a partnership, as well as the leadership of these
pioneers in work-based learning, the Superintendent Scott
Siegfried, and Sarah Grobbel, Cherry Creek's Assistant
Superintendent of Career and Innovation.
It is in this building that the practical and the
theoretical are coming together to offer more educational
opportunities and strengthen America's workforce. It is career-
focused centers like this one that represent the systems
change, a new bridge between industry and education that is
beginning to take root across America.
Finally, when students that attend the Cherry Creek
Innovation Center are matched with apprenticeships, their
success in their future career will be significantly enhanced
and the return on investment for the participating businesses
will skyrocket.
During the last two years, CareerWise has hosted
delegations from across the country to learn about our program
design, to hear about the collaborative groundwork that we
established through a Governor-appointed business experiential
learning commission, to find out about our early challenges and
how they were overcome, and to see apprentices at work and hear
from their employers like Pinnacol Assurance, Home Advisor,
Frontier Airlines, and over 130 employers in the State.
These trips aren't simply fact-finding missions. The
learnings the delegations take home are being put to good use.
As a result, the CareerWise model has been implemented in
vastly different local economies across the country.
Today, CareerWise New York has 85 apprentices working for
companies like JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Amazon,
and CareerWise Elkhart County in Indiana, where 80 percent of
the RVs on the road today are manufactured, has apprentices
working in those advanced manufacturing facilities.
After the first of the year, CareerWise D.C. will launch as
well. A few months ago, I was moderating a panel of apprentices
that work at Pinnocal Assurance in Denver. Towards the end of
the session, I asked one of the apprentice how she viewed her
future prior to her apprenticeship. She is African American and
attends one of the poorest performing schools in her district
that has a free and reduced launch percentage of over 90
percent.
After thinking about the question for a moment, she simply
said, I didn't think I had one. But she continued, I have
learned that I bring value to this company and in turn, they
are giving me an opportunity to build a real career and future
that I couldn't have dreamed of.
You could have heard a pin drop as many of us were wiping
away tears from our eyes. This young lady was just hired as a
full-time employee at Pinnacol and will earn her Associate
Degree by the third year of her apprenticeship. Her story
represents the promise of youth apprenticeship and why I
believe this is a strategy that can change education and
workforce in this country.
The transformation made possible by youth apprenticeship
spans the macro, the economy, growing the middle class, and
helping America maintain the most innovative workforce in the
world, as well as the micro, setting a young person on a course
that may not have otherwise been available to them, and
creating the space in someone's workday so that they may impart
their wisdom to the next generation of workers.
Thank you for your time and your interest in making these
kinds of transformations available for every American. Thank
you.
Chairman CROW. Thank you, Mr. Ginsburg. Mr. Kaplan, you are
recognized for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF MATTHEW KAPLAN
Mr. KAPLAN. Chairman Crow, I am pleased to submit testimony
on behalf of Outdoor Industry Association, OIA, the leading
national trade association of 1,300 suppliers, manufacturers,
and retailers of outdoor gear and products. The outdoor
recreation economy generates $887 billion in consumer spending
and supports more than 7.6 million highly skilled American
jobs.
On behalf of our member businesses, we thank you for
holding today's hearing to discuss new and innovative
approaches to educate young people and create a school-to-
business pipeline. Small businesses make up the backbone of the
outdoor industry, as well as you mentioned earlier. In fact, 78
percent of OIA's 1,300 members generate revenue of less than
$10 million.
These small businesses are especially attentive to
legislation and regulations that ensure a framework that
encourages economic growth, promotes outdoor recreation,
conserves and grows our public lands, protects our environment,
and ensures clean air and clean water for generations of
outdoor enthusiasts.
The Colorado outdoor recreation industry is thriving.
Colorado's outdoor recreation economy generates $28 billion in
consumer spending annually and contributes 229,000 direct jobs.
Those who work in the outdoor industry have collectively earned
over $9.7 billion in wages and salaries, while those who
support it have generated $2 billion in State and local tax
revenue.
Colorado is the home to many prolific outdoor brands. There
are over 170 members of OIA based in the State and these
include several large employers, such as VF Corporation, one of
whose member brands is The North Face, which recently moved to
Colorado in 2018, accounting for over 500 new Colorado jobs,
and Vail Resorts, which owns 37 ski areas around the world,
five of which are located here in Colorado.
There are also many small businesses, such as Topo Designs
and Point 6 socks, as well as the North American headquarters
of European brands Fjallraven, La Sportiva, and Scarpa. The
outdoor lifestyle and economic strength of the State creates an
excellent environment for new brands to test their products and
solicit investment.
In 2018, the twice-per-year Outdoor Retailer Show, the
largest business-to-business trade event serving the outdoor
industry, picked up stakes from its 22-year home in Salt Lake
City, Utah, and selected Denver, Colorado, as its new home. It
is calculated that the two-time-per-year trade show brings
approximately 25,000 attendees to each show, and over $75
million in direct and indirect impact to the State.
Despite the incredible growth and contribution to the
State's economy, the outdoor industry lacks a traditional on-
ramp for recruiting and seeking new talent in the workforce.
There are no job fairs, there are very few degree programs, and
a lack of awareness that the outdoor industry is a viable
career path for all aspects of business skills and training.
OIA is working to change all of that and proactively attract
and retain a continuous stream of a qualified and diverse
workforce.
An important step in this process is working with the
State's educational institutions. Given the impact of this
sector on the State, it is no surprise that several prominent
colleges and universities in Colorado had begun to focus on
degree programs and educational opportunities in outdoor
recreation including the following to just name a few, the
University of Colorado Boulder has a Masters of the Environment
Degree focusing on public lands and climate change, Western
Colorado University in Gunnison has the first of its kind in
the Nation, Outdoor MBA, Colorado State University offers a
degree in Adventure Travel and Tourism, and Colorado Mountain
College offers a diverse range of outdoor degrees and
certificates on all of their 11 campuses throughout the State.
So in 2020, this January, OIA will launch the Outdoor
Industry Business Certificate Program, the first of its kind,
outdoor industry online continuing education platform with
three university partners. Two of these partners are here in
Colorado, CU Boulder and Western Colorado University in
Gunnison.
The certificates will assist individuals who are looking to
enter the outdoor industry from college or from other
industries by creating a curriculum that will educate them on
subjects important to the success in our industry such as
sustainable product design, public lands management, and
general outdoor industry business principles, all of which are
crucial to the success of an outdoor industry professional as
well as the small businesses who employ them.
OIA's business certificates are not only designed for
first-time pathways seekers into the industry but also for
seasoned professionals from other sectors looking for a new
career opportunity or to offer scholarships to students from
under-resourced communities and veterans looking for
opportunities in the outdoor industry.
Our hope is that these certificates will create the on-ramp
needed in our growing sector and allow people to combine their
personal passions with their professional pursuits. Although
our history is rooted in hiking, camping, canoeing,
backpacking, skiing, rock climbing, and many other sports, it
takes skilled professionals in sales, marketing, finance, HR,
IT, and manufacturing to bring those products to market and
make those companies as success. We hope these programs will
allow us to recruit and retain a strong workforce.
In closing, I want to thank Representative Crow for having
this critically important hearing on ways to better recruit and
prepare the workforce of tomorrow. OIA is proud of the various
initiatives we are leading and are thankful to be included in
this conversation.
We look forward to continuing to work with you to determine
if there are ways that Congress can support these important
efforts. Thank you.
Chairman CROW. Thank you, Mr. Kaplan.
Mr. Edmondson, you are recognized for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF GARRY EDMONDSON
Mr. EDMONDSON. Thank you, Congressman Crow, for the time to
speak to you about the Operating Engineers Apprenticeship
Program in Arapahoe County. My Name is Garry Edmondson. I am a
37-year member of the International Union of Operating
Engineers and a Training Coordinator for our apprenticeship
program. I have spent my career in the construction trade.
My time was spent operating dirt equipment, learning to be
a mechanic, and obtaining welding certifications. I went on to
attain multiple crane certifications and worked to become a
certified crane tester and have had the opportunity to serve on
a national board representing a certification program for crane
operators for 10 years. Nineteen years ago, I took the
opportunity to become an instructor and an administrator with
the Operating Engineers Local 101 Apprenticeship Program in
Kansas City.
I served there for 14 years before transitioning to my new
opportunity in Colorado. My experience in heavy equipment
operation, crane training, welding, and diesel mechanics has
given me the unique ability to increase the learning
experiences for the apprentices who come into our union's
apprentice program.
I have been the Administrator for the Colorado
Apprenticeship at the Operating Engineers Local 9 for almost 5
years. This apprenticeship program is registered with the
United States Department of Labor, and we are an earn-as-you-
learn program. We have been teaching apprentices and journeyman
for 65 years in Colorado.
We have 160 acres and $3 million worth of equipment
dedicated to the hands-on training and development of union
apprentices. Our apprenticeship is governed by a committee with
equal representation from management and the union. As a
Department of Labor registered apprenticeship, we are held to a
dedicated set of standards that apply to all apprentices
equally.
The program is designed so that apprentices complete their
training and on-the-job hours in 3 years. As a joint
apprenticeship, we rely on our signatory contractors to provide
the real-life work experience and a competitive wage and
benefits in addition to the required training hours that are
obtained at our training site. The demand for apprentices has
grown over the last 5 years.
For years the interest in trades was overshadowed by the
push for high school graduates to transition directly into a
university or college environment. This created a shortage of
individuals who entered into skilled trades. Trades no longer
became an option for the students. The benefits of
apprenticeships were left unknown to a new generation, thus
creating a shortage of labor and individuals coming into the
trades.
We now have an opportunity to change that direction.
Pathways from high school are critical to continue to provide
growth in apprenticeship programs and trade businesses. One
program that we are having success with is the Multi-Craft Core
Curriculum, MC3, Apprenticeship Readiness Program developed by
the North American Building Trades Unions. The apprenticeship
program has been working with the MC3 curriculum participants
for the last 3 years.
Throughout the year, we have students who are a part of the
MC3 program that have a chance to try the equipment, to learn
about the construction industry, and to get a feel for trades
in general. Just this week, we enrolled 2 recent graduates from
schools that participated in the MC3 program. They had the
opportunity to be at the training site and understand what it
means to be in an apprenticeship.
The MC3 program creates a great pathway that introduces
students to the skilled trades. Industry recognized
apprenticeship programs, or IRAPs, are not the answer to
raising awareness about apprenticeship programs. The answer is
the expansion of programs like the MC3 along with the job
corps, Helmets to Hardhats, and we also are very active with
the Department of Corrections here in Colorado--just put a
former inmate in two weeks ago. All of which we rely on for
incoming pre-apprentices.
These programs ensure that apprenticeships like mine, who
for 65 years have worked closely with contractors to meet
industry needs can continue to grow and develop apprentices--
many, many of our contractors are small businesses, more with
less than 25 employees. We need to have access to the next
generation that are dedicated to growing a career in the
skilled trades.
Our apprenticeship program gives an 18-year-old student a
chance at a lucrative career without incurring college debt or
student loans. It gives them a choice and opportunity to learn
a skilled trade that will never go away. This is done with
tried and true standards that are approved by the U.S.
Department of Labor.
Any policies developed or enacted for apprenticeships need
to include being a registered apprentice program with defined
training standards. It is these standards that will allow an
apprenticeship pathway to be successful for future generations.
Mr. Crow, thank you for your time.
Chairman CROW. Thank you, Mr. Edmondson. I appreciate your
remarks. Another benefit of these field hearings is I get to
ask all the questions myself so I get all the time for me. So I
will begin by recognizing myself for questions----
[Laughter.]
And I will just start--you know, I will start in the way
that we went with our opening remark, so with you, Ms. Grobbel.
Would be interested to hear from you, what are the biggest
barriers that you hear from your students in taking advantage
of this wonderful opportunity in the training and the
apprenticeship programs that you have? What are they struggling
with and encountering as they pursue these training programs?
Ms. GROBBEL. Now, I would tell you when we really started
to look at this Innovation Campus, the most important thing was
access for students. We have an amazing Board of Education and
Superintendent that understood that this building can only be
successful if all students have the ability to get here.
So things like transportation which were able to provide
from every local high school, looking at Carnegie unit credits
where kids actually have seat time versus having the ability to
be a little bit more flexible in some of the core credits that
they need to meet graduation guidelines. Probably the last
thing is really the perception of this type of education.
And again, we are very lucky because we look at this for an
opportunity for 55,000 students, which is the number of
students in Cherry Creek Schools. It is for students that not
only want to go to a two or four-year college but a student
that wants to go on to the military and, or directly to the
workforce or that really doesn't know.
And so the barrier for us is the perception, getting
parents and community members to understand that this is an
opportunity for all students no matter what it is that they
want to do. So we continue to have that barrier but again, with
some great industry partners, great marketing people are really
starting to understand how this could fit into a student's
education.
Chairman CROW. And Mr. Ginsburg, I would love your thought
on that last element that Ms. Grobbel just remarked on and that
is the cultural barrier here, right. That we have this bias
towards four-year college or university which serves a lot of
people really well, but you know, we have this deficit of folks
going into the trades, into CTE and that is one of the things
that, you know, you remarked on in your beginning--so I would
love your thoughts on how do we overcome that cultural barrier
and get people to understand that this is a pathway to a very
strong middle-class career?
Mr. GINSBURG. Well, I think it starts with the recognition,
as I am sure Mr. Edmondson would say, that there is or should
be equal dignity to either or any of these paths. But
culturally we have done such an amazing job of convincing
everyone that there is only one path that that continues to be
a challenge. And I think the only way you overcome that is
through example. And whether it is through a youth
apprenticeship or students that participate in this program
graduate out of the airframe and power plant courses, and get
immediate jobs that pay $55,000 or $60,000, that begins to
change the narrative.
The young woman that I spoke about at Pinnacle Assurance,
they are hiring her--she will be earning $50,000 to $60,000
before she is 25. And so when those stories get out, as well as
the fact that an apprenticeship included getting her AS degree,
I think we will begin to change the narrative. I think it is
critically important that our leadership--the bully pulpit that
you have as a Congressman I think is so critical, because you
can speak to the power of apprenticeship and opportunity.
You can speak to the fact that there is the equal dignity
in multiple paths. I don't have a four-year degree despite all
the good efforts of very good schools. I started my company
when I was in college, and I think we need to recognize that
there is more than one path and then we need to make the
investments to make it possible. The infrastructure to do this
work, not to subsidize businesses to do this, but to ensure
that the tools like what you are sitting in today are available
to all kids I think is critically important.
Chairman CROW. And as a follow-up to that, there is kind of
a lack of understanding in my view and a lack of awareness not
just from the student level and the young person's level but
also with small firms and businesses. And we know that--we have
heard, and I have heard over the last year, that small firms
are sometimes hesitant to take on young staff with little to no
experience.
So, how can we incentivize small businesses and smaller
firms at the Federal level to partner with existing
apprenticeship programs like CareerWise, like the Innovation
Campus, and limit risks for those small businesses while doing
that, but also provide them with the workers that they need?
Mr. GINSBURG. Well, I am somewhat sensitive to providing
financial incentives to large or small companies because the
reality of it is, there is a return on investment for companies
that do this. They are more profitable if they do. With that
being said, part of this model is having the businesses invest
in post-secondary education so that they can earn those college
credits.
You can make the case that businesses and particularly
small businesses shouldn't be burdened with paying for
students' college education. To the extent that we can take
barriers from Pell Grants--for example, right now an apprentice
could lose Pell eligibility because of the earnings they get
while they are in the apprenticeship. Those things need to be
changed.
Making an investment in the curriculum development that is
necessary for the training that takes place in the workplace as
well as the alignment with what is being trained in the schools
is an investment that I think makes sense for the Department of
Education or the Department of Labor. So there are ways that we
can incentivize them not by providing tax credits because this
is a profitable strategy for small business.
But taking the burden of having to pay for education out of
that, I don't think that necessarily needs to be a part of it.
Although I will tell you many of our larger companies, they
have that benefit. So a student that goes through Pinnacle
Assurance, they will pay for their post-secondary education. It
is a part of the typical benefits.
Chairman CROW. And that last point I will mention that I am
a co-sponsor of the Jobs Act which we recently introduced that
actually opens up eligibility for student loans and Pell Grants
and other financial aid for these programs that currently were
restricted. So that got lost in some of the other things being
covered in Washington recently, but we are actually doing that
work and we have heard that message and we are taking action to
address that issue.
Ms. Grobbel, do you have any thoughts on that last piece,
the issue of incentivizing small businesses and firms to kind
of open up opportunities for your students?
Ms. GROBBEL. I have had the opportunity to travel to
Switzerland and actually see the apprenticeship in place for
what is almost 70 percent of students. That is the path that
they choose. I again would concur with what Mr. Ginsburg is
saying. There are so many returns on investment that industry
gets from participating in this that I would say it is more on
the front end. Bring them in.
I would love to introduce you to any one of our 55,000
students because I would tell you the minute that you meet
them, you see the types of professional skills that they are
capable of in a workplace, they are going to be banging down
our doors to be able to be connected with our students. So very
excited about maybe that front end piece of how do they connect
and what is it that they are really going to get.
Chairman CROW. Mr. Kaplan, I know you mentioned in your
earlier--in your opening statement that, I believe the number
was 17 percent, of your member companies have a revenue of
under $10 million. So would love your views on what are their
concerns?
Mr. KAPLAN. It is actually 78 percent.
Chairman CROW. 78?
Mr. KAPLAN. Yes. So their take on in terms of internships,
you are saying?
Chairman CROW. Yes, apprenticeship program or job training
program.
Mr. KAPLAN. Yes. The outdoor industry traditionally has not
had a very robust internship program and that is something we
are working to change pretty dramatically. There is a massive
demand for it. So as an example, Patagonia, a large company
everybody knows, they had 16 internships last summer, 9,000
applicants for those 16 positions. So the tide is turning a
little bit and people are now starting to realize that this is
more of a viable career path.
You don't have to necessarily be an avid mountain climber
who is going to be climbing Everest or doing extreme sports.
Just getting outside for hikes and walks and those types of
things are enough to say that you are an outdoor enthusiast.
And so people are understanding now that if you are a finance
major, there is an opportunity for you with a small backpack
company. You don't have to be a rugged backpacker.
So part of the gap has been that I think there has been a
misunderstanding or miscommunication that you have got to be
extreme to work in the industry, but we need every single
business skill set that any other industry would need, even
heavy manufacturing and even you know, whether it be finance,
accounting, HR as I mentioned.
So there are tremendous opportunities and we are trying to
change that message and push that outward more to get these
small businesses the skills and the help that they need.
Chairman CROW. And you know earlier, just following on that
point, earlier we talked a little bit about one of the barriers
to students economically and the value of an earn while you
learn program as Mr. Edmondson indicated before. Are your
member companies able to provide those opportunities as well
something that is paid and does the training so that we make
sure we have access to all folks?
Mr. KAPLAN. Yes. And so that is something that is also
starting to take a more aggressive effort is these sort of
junior apprenticeships or paid apprenticeships or internships.
And in fact, we at OIA have done that ourselves and are
currently seeking someone in D.C. as a matter of fact for our
office out there for a paid internship. And so yes little by
little we are starting to turn that tide and get more and more
people into the industry.
Chairman CROW. Changing gears slightly, and Mr. Kaplan, it
is my understanding that the National Governors Association and
State legislators are working to create offices of outdoor
recreation in States throughout the country. You know, we have
one here. Now that--or how have these offices help to kind of
initiate workforce development program?
Once again, when we look at what more can they be doing to
be working with, your members, your groups, local businesses,
high schools, colleges to expand those opportunity.
Mr. KAPLAN. Absolutely. Yes, Colorado was the second State
to implement an Office of Elder Recreation. There are now 17
States across the country and they have created these offices
specifically because they have identified this as a growing
economic opportunity. And one of the things that is going to be
crucial is those offices continuing to work with their
institutions of higher learning as well as different trades and
different trade associations to make sure that there is that
communication and that pathway from academia into industry.
And one of the things that OIA is doing is at the twice
annual, or twice a year trade show I mentioned, we are now
creating or we are convening a roundtable of HR professionals
as well as trade colleges and institutions of higher learning
so that we can be that bridge between industry and up-and-
coming learners.
Basically to make sure that that these institutions are
creating curriculum that will help get these students into the
workforce.
Chairman CROW. Mr. Edmondson, you alluded to this also in
your opening statement, but the issue of veterans at your
program in particular. I have long been a huge fan as a
veteran's advocate for Helmets to Hardhats Program that I know
has been very successful with many of the labor apprenticeship
programs including your own.
So I would love your thoughts on how we can assist that
transition even better through programs like that, making sure
that as our veterans leave military service that they have a
clear pathway into these programs because we know that you
know, they are disciplined, they are drug free, they make great
employees, but we have to make sure that we are capturing them
into these programs early. And I would love your thoughts on
that.
Mr. EDMONDSON. That can be a difficult path to break into.
It does take a while. Meetings, connections--I am very
fortunate. I have met a lot of the right people. They got me
into Fort Carson, Buckley Air Force Base. And we have started--
we really turned a corner on that. We got these sporadic
military veteran here and there.
After we all found out and I got with the right people and
Helmets to Hardhats--they have a website. It is almost like a
one-stop shopping. You can go on there and actually look for
somebody that has an interest in my trade, sheet metal, pipe
fitters or whatever. Getting to know they are out there is two
biggest obstacle to that. And once you get inside that door,
the room is really big behind it. Quite frankly, it has been a
lifesaver to me. And obviously we support our veterans 100
percent, as you echo.
They make some of the best employees. They are loyal. They
are on time, and quite frankly it feels good support them. So
it takes a while to get know the right people. I am relatively
new to Colorado. Have been here five years, but now we are full
steam ahead with it.
Chairman CROW. Yes, you know, following up on that, I
really strongly believe that labor unions are going to play a
really important role here particularly in the building trades
and heavy construction and other critical areas because you
have programs that are time-tested. They have been around for
many decades. They have passed some very stringent
certification requirements through DOL and there is a lot of
oversight in many of these programs.
So, you know, how can we expand the pathways through your
programs because many of the locals that I visited recently say
they have these classes and, you know, the plumbers for example
told me recently that when somebody gets out of their program,
they could be making $80,000, $90,000 within a couple of years,
but they can't fill their classes, right.
They are trying to and have a hard time recruiting folks
and filling their apprenticeship programs. I would love your
thoughts on how we can expand pathways and relationships with
businesses to provide more of those opportunities.
Mr. EDMONDSON. Good question. The search is always on for
all of us for quality employees, apprentices. I have a guy that
does the job for once in a while, which has helped a lot.
Finding them is the key to it. Retaining them is another key. I
think we got behind the eight ball somewhere along the line
several years ago. The average age of an operating engineer is
somewhere around 53 years old. So with the little unemployment
rate in Colorado, the competition is extremely fierce for
somebody out there. Making friends like my new friend Ms.
Grobbel across the way there. Thank you for having us there.
Now we have a friend. We are going to do great things together.
Again, connections is everything. Following up with
programs, MC3, Helmets to Hardhats, Department of Corrections
is really what is keeping our heads above water at this point.
I don't know how they open up much more to be totally honest
with you. We do job fairs. We average three a week from October
to somewhere in March. That is a lot of job fairs.
Chairman CROW. You do those all around Colorado?
Mr. EDMONDSON. A few weeks ago I was in Grand Junction at
an MC3 event. We have been to Delta, virtually all over
Colorado Springs, Fort Carson, Pueblo. If there is a job fair
and I can fit in my schedule, I am there. We can't not do it.
Chairman CROW. The process here, what we are going to do is
I am going to finish by going down the line with a question
that as we look at funding, Federal investment, what is the
area that you would like to see us focusing our resources to
expand these opportunities and kind of grow the economic pie
and promote small business development in particular?
So we will just go down the line and then what I will do is
I am going to gavel us out of the hearing after that so that we
close the Congressional record and I will open it up if there
are any questions or thoughts. We can have a discussion that
includes the other folks in attendance here as well just to
have the other perspectives in the room. So maybe Ms. Grobbel,
if you want to start us off?
Ms. GROBBEL. Sure. I have mentioned already a few things
today and especially in my initial remarks. Probably the one
that I have not mentioned was how the curriculum instruction is
built at this building and it is we sit hand-in-hand with our
industry partners and build it from day one on. It is tied with
industry certificates as well as college curriculum.
One of the things that we recognize when we went to
Switzerland is that there is a Federal regulation when it comes
to what is taught within certain pathways of study for
students. We have already talked about other funding pieces,
but I would say one of the number one things that the Federal
Government can help us or at a Federal level would be to start
to create curriculum instruction that it doesn't matter what
State you are in, this is really the instruction and curriculum
that is needed and this is what you should be shooting for.
If there is any way that we could create kind of Federal
oversight for that, then again, I recognize that there is also
a local control within individual States, but we could use that
support.
Mr. GINSBURG. I think there are two places in particular
and one is a continuation of what Ms. Grobbel was saying around
curriculum. The curriculum that is taught in business as a part
of the apprenticeship is expensive to develop. And to have the
resources that lead to registered or unregistered
apprenticeships that are of high quality, because the
curriculum is well-designed is industry advised, actually is a
very complex and expensive investment.
The second piece that I think would be very helpful is
around educating, you know, our citizens that there are
multiple paths of opportunity that should exist in our economy
and that apprenticeship is one of them. And that having the
skills that enable you to gain access into the middle class and
make college more affordable, if that is your choice, is a good
option. And right now people till this day will confuse
internships with apprenticeships and they are very different.
So there needs to be an education process that is
expensive. You can't just do a one and done and expect to
change hearts and minds when that has--they have been getting a
different narrative for a generation now. So I think those two
areas are a place for investment as well as the work that you
are already doing around Pell eligibility and other obstacles
that exist in the system. I do have to apologize. I have to be
in Fort Collins for a meeting with their chamber for CareerWise
so I have to excuse myself.
Chairman CROW. Yes. If you could just get the closing
statement. Give me a couple of more minutes and then I can
gavel out, that would be great. Thank you, Noel. Mr. Kaplan?
Mr. KAPLAN. Yes, I think there is two things also from my
perspective. The first is that throughout the country you are
seeing more and more States move away from extraction industry
economy. Some States are balancing very well outdoor recreation
and extraction, but in here in Colorado as an example out in
Gunnison, 83 percent of the land surrounding Gunnison and
Crested Butte are public lands, much of which had extraction
industry on it in the past and has been now abandoned so they
are now converting over to outdoor recreation economy.
And as a part of that, many of these areas similar to that
are also trying to foster investment there around small
businesses and startups and you are seeing across the country
many new startup accelerators starting to come forward to
promote the outdoor industry small business sector and create
an opportunity for these small businesses to get off the
ground.
So I think funding around small businesses and
entrepreneurship in terms of some of these accelerators and
grant dollars that are available is going to be very important.
And the other thing I think also, it has come up a few times,
our veterans. And what a lot of people don't realize is that
the outdoor industry manufactures a tremendous amount of gear
used by our armed forces. And it is the most hardcore people
using the most hardcore products in the most hardcore
environments, and many, many outdoor brands use that.
So there is already a familiarity with the product, with
the technologies being used, whether it be fabric technologies
or electronic technologies, and so being able to create an on-
ramp for those veterans to come into our industry using at or
working for brands and products that they actually are already
familiar with would be a great and a tremendous opportunity.
Thank you.
Chairman CROW. Mr. Edmondson?
Mr. EDMONDSON. I have actually got two parts to this
answer. Number one, I think it belongs--it starts in high
school, funding of programs like for Ms. Grobbel. I am a
product of the 70s. We had a thing called Vo-Tech. They got
tired of us. They threw us out of the high school and said get
on the bus, you ride 35 miles to the bigger town down the road,
and we could take welding, auto body, machine shop. There is
like five different classes that provided such a good
foundation.
For some of us, we were not college-bound. I am from a
poor, poor County Southeast Kansas. College was virtually not
an option for probably 80 or 90 percent of us, and I can safely
say that instructor--I think his name to the Jim Mayfield--two
years of welding and he would run that class with an iron fist.
I look you in the eyes and say he saved my life. I would be
dead or in prison now if it wasn't for that skill I learned.
So if we could help Ms. Grobbel, these other schools have
an alternative path for somebody that is not going to go to
college, that don't mean they are bad people. I don't mean they
are not smart. That doesn't mean they are not willing to work.
We need a path for these type of people. Second off, our
industry is funded by employer contributions, investments in
infrastructure is what puts us on the map.
I-70, not fun to drive now, but it is going to be. We got
lots of people working there. Kiewit has over 245 people
working there, operating engineers alone as we speak. Without
these jobs going our funding goes down. So any investment in
our infrastructure is what would keep us on the map.
Chairman CROW. Thank you. Based on the testimony today,
some really good follow-ups for us on the committee. I really
appreciate your variety of perspectives. We are able to get a
lot of different perspectives here, which I appreciate and I
appreciate your time very much. So I look forward to working
with all of you going forward to identify more opportunities.
We will follow up as well with some additional questions.
I really think this is an opportunity for really a win-win-
win here. You know, this is where our communities can win, our
kids can win, and our businesses can win, and we can kind of
grow the pie for everybody. And frankly, those are great
opportunities and I think you can find a situation in my role
where a lot of people can come out of this better off.
And I look forward to working with all of you on that. So
thank you for sharing your testimonies and answering questions
and providing that perspective. I am going to go through an
incantation here now before I wrap it up. So I would ask the
unanimous consent of me, that members have five legislative
days to submit statements and supporting materials for the
record.
Without objection, that is so ordered.
And if there is no further business to come before the
committee, we are adjourned. Thank you.
[Whereupon, at 12:11 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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