IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 286 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that investing in the 
Nation’s skilled workforce is investing in the Nation’s economy, and 
that in accordance with existing law, the House of Representatives should 
promote public and private partnerships to increase training programs, 
tax incentives, industry and State apprenticeships, and for other pur-
poses. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 1, 2015 
Mrs. LAWRENCE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
investing in the Nation’s skilled workforce is investing 
in the Nation’s economy, and that in accordance with 
existing law, the House of Representatives should pro-
mote public and private partnerships to increase training 
programs, tax incentives, industry and State apprentice-
ships, and for other purposes. 
Whereas the Department of Labor and State Workforce In-
vestment Boards are uniquely positioned to lead the ef-
forts to secure the Nation’s need for a competitive and 
highly skilled workforce; 
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•HRES 286 IH 
Whereas ‘‘The Skills Gap in U.S. Manufacturing 2015 and 
Beyond’’ report projects that over the next decade, nearly 
3,500,000 manufacturing jobs will likely need to be filled, 
and the skills gap is expected to result in 2,000,000 of 
those jobs going unfilled; 
Whereas many manufacturing companies and large corpora-
tions have invested in more automation and complex ma-
chinery to reduce labor cost, comprehensive training pro-
grams are still needed to increase the skill levels of em-
ployees to maintain, troubleshoot and repair those auto-
mated systems; 
Whereas highly skilled and technical workers are as valuable 
to the Nation’s workforce as college graduates; 
Whereas apprenticeship programs meet the skilled workforce 
needs of the Nation’s industry, and have been training 
millions of qualified individuals for careers since 1937; 
Whereas the successes of State and private industry pro-
grams such as the South Carolina Works Apprenticeship, 
Michigan’s Skilled Trades Training Fund, Microsoft Stu-
dent Advantage, and IAM/Boeing Joint Apprenticeship 
demonstrate best practices to be studied; 
Whereas the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Edu-
cation Act must better provide for States to include com-
munity partners and private industry as they develop 
plans for career and technical education programs; 
Whereas States and local educational agencies need to better 
assess student development of 21st century skills as an 
element of the youth workforce investment activities and 
adult and dislocated worker training services funded by 
local workforce development programs; 
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•HRES 286 IH 
Whereas apprenticeship training has proven to be one of the 
most effective ways to develop highly skilled craftspeople 
in selected trades; 
Whereas apprenticeships are cost effective, goal orientated, 
and designed to meet specific skill needs of employers; 
Whereas the U.S. Department of Labor maintains a database 
of all registered apprentices in the United States and as 
of 2014, shows only 410,000 registered apprentices; 
Whereas in 2003, there were about 489,000 registered ap-
prentices in the United States and in 2014, there were 
only 288,000; 
Whereas only 2 percent of the registered apprentices are re-
lated to manufacturing industries; 
Whereas the manufacturing industry employs approximately 
12,000,000 workers and less than 1 percent of the total 
manufacturing workforce receives formal advanced train-
ing in the form of apprenticeships; and 
Whereas statistics show that a graduate apprentice earns a 
higher wage, has a more stable work record, and is pro-
moted more quickly and more often than workers who 
have not completed an apprenticeship: Now, therefore, be 
it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that greater investment in the Nation’s skilled 
and technical workforce is needed and all appropriate 
measures should be taken to ensure the Nation’s work-
force remains competitive by incentivizing States and pri-
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•HRES 286 IH 
vate industry through tax credits, competitive grants, and 
other measures. 
Æ 
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