2021
MWA continues to support and inform bills that advance workforce development, apprenticeships, and work-learn opportunities. We are especially excited about the following introduced legislation.
Blueprint for Maryland’s Future
MWA supports the veto override of this bill and modifications to the implementation timeline. We look forward to providing additional input into policy adjustments to account for the impact of the pandemic as it pertains to equitable access and opportunities. This bill aims to rebuild the state’s public schools’ system through modified funding and expanded programs. More specifically, the legislation would expand pre-kindergarten programs and funding for schools with high concentrations of poverty, increase pay and career opportunities for teachers, create new career pathways for high schoolers who don’t plan to attend college, and institute an accountability board to ensure that the government and school districts properly implement the Blueprint plan (Maryland Matters, 2021).
SB 668 Good Jobs for High School Graduates Act of 2021
This bill requires certain bounty boards of education to consider the pursuit of certain certificates, certifications, or apprenticeships as the equivalent of pursuing postsecondary education; authorizing a student or student’s parents or guardian to release certain student information to certain apprenticeship sponsors and employers. This will require certain public high schools to inform students of employment and skills training opportunities.
SB 357/HB653 Joint committee on Workforce Development
This bill establishes a Joint Committee on Workforce Development to evaluate the condition of the State's public and private sector workforces, monitor skills shortages, identify strategies to expand employment opportunities, increase earnings, and evaluate the effectiveness of certain programs and policies; requiring the Committee to submit its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on or before December 31 each year.
SB- 894 Post Crisis Jobs Act of 2021
This bill would authorize certain applicants to complete certain education or training requirements through a digital learning program under certain circumstances; requiring the Governor, for fiscal years 2023 through 2025, to allocate 75% of any increase in total State operating funds for community colleges for workforce training; establishing the Digital Learning Conversion Grant Program, the Basic Numeracy and Literacy Skills Grant Program, and the Recruitment of High Growth Industries Workers Grant Program.
2020
Looking Forward to 2020
The Maryland Workforce Alliance’s legislative agenda will focus on increasing college affordability while minimizing student debt by passing legislation and budgets that enable students to earn free college credits while in high school by integrating Career & Technical Education classroom instruction with paid Youth apprenticeships. In the 2020 legislative session, the Maryland Workforce Alliance will:
-- Work with legislators, Kirwan Commission members, and other allies to include our college affordability and apprenticeship program recommendations in the final Kirwan Commission bill
-- Draft and seek sponsorship of separate legislation for college affordability issues
-- Recruit additional unions, trade associations, and non-profiles to support The Maryland Workforce Alliance’s college affordability agenda
-- Educate students about CTE and Youth Apprenticeships, and how these programs benefit them by making higher education affordable
-- Educate business owners and employers about the benefits of offering Youth, Registered, and Degree Apprenticeship programs
-- Promote the legislative agenda through social media and master communication platforms
Kirwan Commission
The Maryland Workforce Alliance will strive to ensure the Kirwan Commission’s workforce development recommendations are passed. The Kirwan Commission’s key workforce development recommendations the Maryland Workforce Alliance will advocate for are:
1. Expanding dual enrollment programs to earn tuition free college credits while in high school, with the goal of earning both an Associate’s Degree and High School Diploma at the conclusion of 12th grade
2. 45% of students achieving a market valuable occupational credential by 12th grade, which could include college credits
3. Establishing and implementing a college & career readiness (CRR) standard, set to global standards
4. Requiring all local school systems to provide all students who meet the CRR standard with access to a set of post-CRR program pathways that includes free college up to an associates degree.