PathWays PA Special E-Alert: Ask House Leadership to Continue the Legislative Session

By MB -
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As many of you already know, the Pennsylvania House has decided to come back into session on Monday to vote on legislation.

While we support this decision, a one-day session will not be long enough to pass some important legislation, including the Industry Partnership bill (SB 1409).

This bill, which has broad bipartisan support, needs additional session days so it can be reported out of the Labor Relations Committee and added to the House calendar. With your help, this important legislation can move forward.

What can you do?

Please call your legislator and House leadership to ask them to extend the session for a few more days. If you support Industry Partnerships, your message to them can be:

"The Industry Partnership program has proven itself to be valuable to Pennsylvania's businesses and employees. Please extend the session for a few more days so that SB 1409 and other important legislation can be considered this year."

In addition to calling your legislators, you can also customize an email to them about the importance of the Industry Partnership program.

What should I know about Senate Bill 1409 and Industry Partnerships?

Senate Bill 1409 amended Pennsylvania's Workforce Development Act to codify the Industry Partnerships program. This bill passed the Senate with a 40-9 vote, and a nearly identical bill passed the House unanimously.

Industry Partnerships consist of groups of businesses with similar product markets and skill needs that identify and address their common workforce education and training issues. These partnerships currently include more than 6,300 employers in Pennsylvania and have trained more than 73,000 individuals.

Industry Partnerships are unique in that they are employer-driven. They train workers for jobs that the industry needs, as opposed to traditional training that often trained for jobs that didn't exist.

In addition to developing cost-effective training, Industry Partnerships provide critical intelligence about the skill needs of local businesses; develop common curricula, certifications and career ladders; and provide a forum through which employers learn from each other how to improve organizational practices and increase competitiveness.

If you would like to learn more about Industry Partnerships in action, please watch our video on how employers and workers in Delaware County have benefited from the Industry Partnership program.

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