On Monday, I presented Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) with a check commemorating the $250,000 in federal funding I secured to expand the organization’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) program for High School District 214 in Arlington Heights. This expansion aims to include 9th and 10th graders, while also providing additional resources for the 11th and 12th graders currently involved in the program. CTE programs can make a significant difference in preparing our students for rewarding, middle-class careers, ultimately strengthening our entire economy.

Expanding access to skills-based education will open doors to a range of new professional opportunities for students in fields such as information technology, computer science, advanced manufacturing, and graphic design, among others. Throughout my time in Congress, I have taken pride in advocating for CTE funding in our community and across the nation, including through authoring the bipartisan Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act. I look forward to continuing to collaborate with students, educators, and business leaders in our community in this effort in the years to come.

On Monday, January 8th, I will be hosting a panel discussion at Harper College at 1:00 pm on the need to ensure that workers skilled through training and experience, rather than a bachelor's degree, receive fair consideration in hiring. While automation and other technical advances in hiring have made application screening easier for employers, they have also significantly contributed to the trend of requiring degrees for jobs that previously did not demand them.

According to a 2021 study, more than 90% of employers reported using a computerized system to automate the screening of job applicants, with nearly half using education level as a filter. However, approximately 90% of employers agreed that qualified candidates are excluded from consideration because their resumes do not match the exact criteria of these automated systems. This results in qualified workers being locked out of good jobs, pressuring Americans to take on significant debt for degrees they may not need.

To address this problem, I partnered with Republican Congressman John James in October to introduce the Opportunity to Compete Act, bipartisan legislation that would open the door for qualified workers without a bachelor’s degree, who have acquired relevant skills through other means such as apprenticeships and previous job experience. You can RSVP for this discussion by clicking here.