ACTE Announces Reps. Langevin & Thompson to Co-Chair CTE Caucus

ACTE Announces Reps. Langevin & Thompson to Co-Chair CTE Caucus

News Date: February 01, 2011

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) announced today that Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) are the new co-chairs of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus. The CTE caucus, initiated in 2007 by former Congressmen Phil English (R-PA) and Brian Baird (D-WA), has raised the visibility and value of CTE on Capitol Hill.

“Reps. Langevin and Thompson understand the critical role CTE plays in educating and training our future workforce and keeping America’s economy moving in the right direction,” said ACTE Executive Director Jan Bray. “They know that without CTE, business and industry cannot maintain or increase its competitiveness. We are honored to have them co-chair the caucus, and they have the opportunity to educate Congress and their communities about the impact of CTE.”

The CTE Caucus will continue to focus its agenda on job creation and training. Along with recruiting new members to the caucus, Reps. Langevin and Thompson are working to recognize CTE Month in February and participate in other CTE Month events.

“We must be creative and proactive about workforce development in our country, and that includes making sure educational opportunities are not only affordable and available for our students, but geared for the cutting edge fields of the 21st century,” said Langevin. “In order to strengthen the pipeline for these jobs, we need to engage all of our nation’s schools, businesses, universities and other invested partners in a common goal, and I look forward to working with Rep. Thompson and ACTE to that end.”

Congressman Langevin believes education is important, and America should invest in programs that promote new employment and train students for future jobs, as well as ensuring easier access to higher education.

“Strengthening and expanding our skilled workforce is paramount to preserving our nation’s technical job base and remaining globally competitive, “said Thompson. “During the 112th Congress, we must ensure our priority as a nation is sustainable job creation and economic growth. The CTE caucus will serve to educate lawmakers on the importance of our technical workforce and advance policies that improve skilled labor education and support tech-related small business job growth.”

Congressman Thompson received the Committee for Education Funding 2009 New Member award. He wrote an opinion editorial asking for an increased investment in CTE and it was published in The Hill.

For more information about the CTE Caucus, please visit ACTE’s Web site.

ABOUT ACTE
The Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE) is the nation’s largest not-for-profit education association dedicated to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for successful careers. It provides advocacy, public awareness and access to information, professional development and tools that enable members to be successful and effective leaders. Founded in 1926, ACTE has more than 27,000 members including teachers, counselors and administrators at the middle school, high school and postsecondary levels