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Dear Friends,
Throughout the past six weeks, I traveled around central Arkansas to speak with business owners, teachers, farmers, and veterans about the biggest issues impacting their lives. One of the top subjects discussed was how we grow our workforce and expand its effectiveness.
The United States is currently experiencing the longest economic expansion in its history. But in order to stay competitive in this rapidly evolving and expanding global economy of the 21st century, Arkansas needs efficient and dynamic growth. We must refocus our economic efforts on providing the thousands of Arkansans entering the workforce with the tools they need to provide for themselves. They deserve our dedication to making this country the land of opportunity we know it has the potential to be.
As we think about workforce strategies and the supply of much-needed workers across the entire spectrum of career opportunities, we must broaden our horizons from simply K-12 education and a four-year college degree.
Our first strategy should be to offer all students an opportunity for the pursuit of happiness. That is, we must provide enriching curricula that allows students who are college-bound to excel and be prepared for college, while at the same time allowing non-college-bound students to select a profitable apprenticeship or career track upon graduation. School districts must also offer concurrent credit for high school students–advanced placement courses for those headed to college and career-enhancing certificates for those headed to work.
Arkansas is filled with great examples of these strategies. For example, Greenbrier High School's innovative approach blends advanced placement and concurrent credit courses to ensure that students get the most out of their honors experience. Students who complete at least 60 hours of concurrent credit courses are eligible to earn an Associate of Arts degree from University of Arkansas Little Rock.
New approaches that are currently in development include the Saline County Career Technical Campus, which has been jointly designed by the seven school districts in that county. Additionally, the North Little Rock, Little Rock, Jacksonville/North Pulaski, and Pulaski County school districts have launched an exploratory study into Ford Next Generation Learning (NGL), the education initiative of the Ford Motor Company Fund. NGL is a community-driven educational approach proven to increase students’ educational and career outcomes by engaging educators, community leaders, and employers.
The point is that all students in all jurisdictions need to have this concurrent track strategy in order to increase achievement, reduce dropout rates, and better inspire students to the pursuit of happiness upon graduation. Likewise, post-secondary strategies should be enhanced with both two- or four-year degrees with an apprenticeship and employment attached.
This sort of partnership with the private sector is what's behind the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce’s “Be Pro Be Proud” initiative where the state chamber is educating middle school and high school students about career opportunities upon graduation from high school. This past week, I attended the launch of the second generation "Be Pro Be Proud" Mobile Workshop (pictured below) at the Arkansas Statehouse Convention Center. The second generation is an expansion of the original interactive workshop incorporating three more technical professions as well as several new simulated experiences. Learn more about Be Pro Be Proud HERE.
Arkansas’s economic future will depend on changing the perception of these career options. Together, we can accomplish this by supporting efforts to highlight the many opportunities available within these sectors.
In order to close the skills gap and create the most opportunities for young people, we need an all-of-the-above approach to skills education. As the Co-Chairman of the bipartisan House Skilled American Workforce Caucus, I will continue to work on effective reforms that support and expand programs that serve and lift up all Arkansans.
Sincerely,
Representative French Hill
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