WASHINGTON – Vice President Joe Biden outlined the Obama administration’s plan to boost community college graduation rates by giving college credit for job-training apprenticeships on Monday.
Biden announced the launch of the Registered Apprenticeship College Consortium at the 94th Annual American Association of Community Colleges Convention.
The consortium will act as a way to bridge the gap for students coming from low- and middle-class families who have to decide whether to go straight to work or continue their education
The goal, Biden said, is to let students learn while they earn.
Biden said the new consortium includes community colleges, businesses, labor unions and industry organizations, all committed to creating paid apprenticeships that would qualify for academic credit.
“Unless we have the most skilled workforce in the world, we will not be able to lead the world,” Biden said, citing statistic after statistic that point to the United States’ need to train more workers and the growing necessity of holding a degree or certificate in the job market.
In the manufacturing sector, there are more than 100,000 jobs going unfilled, he said, because of the lack of skills. In 2020, he predicted that number would grow to 875,000. Jobs in construction, technology and health care are on the same trajectory.
The consortium would let students transfer credits they earn while working as apprentices to any community college, saving them time and money on the road to an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.
Vice President Joe Biden speaks to a crowd of more than 2,000 community college leaders and faculty members at the 94th Annual American Associate of Community Colleges. (Homa Bash/MNS)
The Republican National Committee fired back, blaming the employer mandate within the Affordable Care Act for forcing colleges to cut hours for professors.
“ObamaCare is literally crushing community colleges across the country,” said RNC spokesman Jahan Wilcox.
The president of the AACC, Dr. Walter G. Bumphus, said he’s encouraged that the Obama administration is throwing its support behind community colleges and job training, but needs to see more details about what the consortium will entail.
“I am thrilled there will be a renewed focus on those types of trainings and programs,” he said. Bumphus added that many colleges already have apprenticeship programs that they are trying to develop and enhance, “so any support we get will be a big help.”
In his State of the Union address this year, President Barack Obama asked the vice president to head a task force that would reform training programs and give workers the necessary skills to fill jobs.