Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) re-introduced legislation to promote education and training—including registered apprenticeship programs—for workers in in-demand industries. The Working On Rewarding and Keeping Employees Resilient (WORKER) Act will ensure employees have access to good-paying careers in skilled jobs throughout Nevada and the nation.
“The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the need to diversify Nevada’s economy and ensure that all interested Nevadans have access to the training and support they need to find and keep good-paying, 21st-century jobs. My legislation to promote STEM education, support registered apprenticeships, and expand opportunities for job training and re-training will help working families harness the power of Nevada’s innovative technology sector. Through my Innovation State Initiative, I’ll continue to support efforts to help the Silver State build the inclusive, successful workforce of the future.”
BACKGROUND:
The Working On Rewarding and Keeping Employees Resilient (WORKER) Act would invest in the skills needed for Nevadans to keep up with 21st-century workforce demands by:
- Expanding programs in engineering at elementary and secondary schools by awarding grants to local educational agencies to support, develop, and implement formal and informal engineering education programs.
- Expanding the promotion of registered apprentice programs by the Department of Labor, including through outreach to underrepresented populations, young people, and veterans;
- Promoting collaboration with postsecondary institutions to encourage apprenticeships, including allowing academic credit for apprenticeship programs;
- Coordinating unemployment programs with career counseling, job search assistance, training assistance, and income support services to better help unemployed workers find a job.
- Creating a Training Stipend program to support dislocated workers completing short-term training in in-demand industry sectors.
- Creating a stipend for dislocated workers to ensure their transportation and child care costs can be covered while they retrain for new jobs.
As part of Senator Cortez Masto’s Innovation State Initiative, she has focused on supporting workers by advocating for multiple pieces of legislation to create pathways to 21st-century, middle-class jobs. In 2018, provisions of her bipartisan Safe DRONE Act were signed into law, including sections to help build quality workforce development programs for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). She also recently announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded an Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant in the amount of $6,930,635 to the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) to support job-seekers who want to find work in in-demand industries.
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