Patriot-News Op-Ed: "Industry Partnerships provide 21st century training "

by Mark S. Schweiker, 44th governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
As the state Senate comes into the homestretch of a difficult legislative session, it has a chance to take a major step forward for Pennsylvania’s businesses and economy by passing Lancaster County Republican Sen. Mike Brubaker’s Industry Partnership legislation.


Pennsylvania’s 70-plus Industry (training) Partnerships tied to key industry clusters in each region are the foundation of a 21st century human capital infrastructure that is becoming a key competitive advantage for the state.

At their most basic, Industry Partnerships fix a long-standing flaw in government training programs: They bring businesses together to identify skill gaps and to ensure that training plugs those gaps. 

This is a vast improvement on a tradition of training by providers without deep ties to employers.
Many of the training needs that Industry Partnerships identify focus on mid-skill technical jobs critical to competitiveness and a source of urgently needed middle-class jobs: positions such as industrial maintenance technicians and laboratory technicians in the bio-medical industry.


But the best Industry Partnerships go far beyond the basics.

To read the full article, visit the Patriot-News' website.

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