House Approves Mackenzie Bill to Ensure Students are Career Bound
Legislation is one of several workforce development bills to gain House passage
HARRISBURG – The House of Representatives this week passed a package of bills aimed at expanding workforce development initiatives in Pennsylvania. One of the bills,
House Bill 425, authored by Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh/Berks), would help increase awareness among middle and high school students about potential career opportunities in high-demand fields.
Mackenzie’s bill, known as CareerBound, would specifically focus on encouraging trade groups, businesses, and institutions of higher learning to partner with middle and high schools to offer students early exposure to career opportunities through career expos, job shadowing, internships, and other career-education integration initiatives.
“CareerBound, along with other bills in the package, are aimed at giving students and those currently in the workforce greater opportunities for higher-paying careers that will allow them to advance up the economic ladder,” said Mackenzie. “My bill specifically targets students to provide them with more information than they currently are receiving about the state’s most in-demand fields.”
The bills passed by the House today are part of the House Republican Caucus’ #GoodJobs4PA initiative aimed at ensuring all Pennsylvanians have access to well-paying jobs.
Other legislation that is part of the package would allow technical schools to recruit students like colleges do; make it easier for students to see where credits transfer; create a database of workforce development programs at secondary and post-secondary institutions; create an online career resource center; and allow students who complete classes in STEM education to apply the credits to a course through a vocational-technical school, technical institution or vocational school.
The bills now go to the Senate for consideration.
Learn more about #GoodJobs4PA at
pahousegop.com/goodjobs.
Representative Ryan Mackenzie
134th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Tricia Lehman
717.772.9840
tlehman@pahousegop.com
RepMackenzie.com /
Facebook.com/RepMackenzie