The bulk of support for these programs has been provided by the States, with the Federal commitment providing a stimulus for State participation and helping meet costs in the programs which States would otherwise not be able to carry alone. To that end, Federal support has helped enrollment in vocational programs rise 112 percent from 1970 to 1979, and in 1979 over 90 percent of students completing secondary vocational programs found employment, while over 95 percent of adult participants found jobs. The major reason that people enroll in vocational education is to learn a skill that will earn them a living. In today's increasingly mechanized and technological society, good job skills are necessary to increase productivity and economic growth. One of the most valuable kinds of assistance we can give to people who are out of work and suffering economic hardship is the opportunity to learn a skill that will get them a job.
Vocational education provides that assistance.
While Federal expenditures for vocational education increased by 18 percent from 1972 to 1979, State and local expenditures increased by 170 percent. This suggests that States and localities may pick up a portion of the reduction in Federal expenditures for vocational education. But the reality of our current situation is that the Federal Government has been trying to do everything. We must begin to retrench, and vocational education must take its share of the cuts. Let us rely on the authorizing committees to in sure that we better distribute educational funds which remain in the budget in the form of CETA training-type programs.