Sponsor Statement for HB 429

The global marketplace is being driven by fast moving technological changes.

Technical skills and adaptability are becoming the standard in the workplace. Robotics, computers, electronics, communications, genetics and countless other topics are among the forces driving industrial economies, and therefore, the job markets of those economies.

The emergence of the technical workplace and the reduction in the number of middle management positions indicate the end of an era during which a bachelor’s degree was viewed as a sign of an individual’s potential. Today, in order to be competitive, employers must hire people who can do a job immediately or with minimal training. One study suggests that the single most important criterion in hiring for high-skill, high-wage nonprofessional technical occupations was possession of a specific occupational skill.

The U.S. Department of Labor has concluded that the lifetime earnings of individuals who work in such technical occupations will exceed the earnings of all college graduates, save for those who are successful in finding work in the professional or managerial ranks. Because of unfilled vacancies in technical occupations, the U.S. annually admits roughly 25,000 foreign workers with the appropriate technical skills.

The message should be clear. An unfocused general high school education is not enough anymore. Approximately 75% of America’s high school graduates are leaving high school without clearly defined job options.

The State of Alaska has no specific high school graduation requirements in the area of vocational education. This legislation would mandate that every school district in the state require at least two hours of vocational education to be completed before a student qualifies for graduation from high school.