We Need Workforce Development and Education

Getting our economy back on track won't be quick or easy. There's tough work ahead. Virginians are ready to do that work because they know we can't afford any more short-cut solutions in our politics. This time, we need to do what's right, not what's simple.

I wrote last week about ways to deal with this economic meltdown in our financial institutions – ways to hold those accountable who got us into this mess. But while it is important to address the situation on Wall Street, it is essential that we remain focused on bringing jobs and economic revival back to Main Street in Southside and Central Virginia.

Over the next few weeks, I will be discussing several aspects of my seven point economic REVIVAL plan to bring jobs and economic growth back the Fifth District. I want to start this week with workforce development and education. To compete in the global economy, America must have the best trained and most qualified workforce in the world.

Workforce development is essential for recruiting new employers to Southside Virginia and providing workers with the skills to move from a minimum wage job to a living wage career. I believe we need to increase support for vocational programs, training facilities, and our great community colleges. We should support greater cooperation with community colleges to enable more high school students to graduate with certifications and credits.

We are going to be facing a major teacher shortage in the next decade as the baby boomers retire. I will work to launch a national teacher recruitment program, modeled on the success of Teach for America and the New Teachers Program, for retiring baby boomers from the math and sciences fields. The program would make it easier for professionals to transition into a second or later career in teaching and would provide a program of on-the-job classroom training. We can incentivize these new teachers to serve in our rural communities and small towns.

We also need to eliminate parts of No Child Left Behind that make it difficult to keep students in vocational training and life skills programs. In addition to reading and math, students should graduate from high school with the skills to write a resume, the discipline to be drug-free, and the confidence to perform in a job interview.

Finally, we need to make college more affordable. We can do that by instituting national service programs that would reward military or civilian service with tuition assistance grants. I would support "first in the family" college grants and an ROTC-style program that offers college tuition for students who commit to teaching in underserved rural schools for at least five years after graduation.

Education and workforce development is the foundation for a flourishing economy and our children's futures. The next Congress will have to face some tough choices on cutting government spending, but we can't afford to put workforce development on the back burner. We can't be penny-wise and pound-foolish when it comes to investing in our most valuable resource: our people.

Tom Perriello is the Democratic candidate for Congress in Virginia's Fifth District. You can find out more about his campaign at www.PerrielloForCongress.com or by visiting one of our eight district offices in: Appomattox, Bedford, Charlottesville, Danville, Farmville, Martinsville, Moneta, and South Hill.