Hundreds of associations and companies recently signed a letter to Congress urging the passage of H.R. 5587, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act. The letter calls on Congress to quickly pass H.R. 5587, so workers can be trained in jobs that align with employers’ labor needs.

This bill is a bipartisan effort aimed at helping U.S. students acquire work skills. According to the letter, employers across the country are reporting moderate to serious shortages of qualified applicants for skilled and highly skilled positions. Career and technical education (CTE) programs, designed with the input of employers and responsive to the needs identified by labor market data, are central to overcoming this skills gap.