Rep. Courtney Celebrates Students at Norwich Tech Signing Day, Renews Commitment to Increasing Federal Support for Career and Technical Education
NORWICH, CT – Today, Rep. Courtney (CT-02) joined SkillsUSA’s National Signing Day at Norwich Technical High School and reaffirmed his commitment to supporting career and technical education for eastern Connecticut’s students, schools, and employers.
“For years, Norwich Technical High School has been essential to preparing the next generation of high-skill workers in eastern Connecticut. Today, they continued that mission as 72 students signed letters of intent alongside their new employers to enter skilled trades after graduation. Career and technical education has never been more critical, as recent data shows that there are 9.6 million job openings nationwide. With an excellent foundation thanks to Norwich Tech, these students will have the skills to fill job openings and meet employers’ needs, particularly Electric Boat’s record-high annual hiring goal.” said Rep. Courtney (CT-02). “In DC, I am working to ensure that students have access to apprenticeship programs and career and technical education for decades to come. Last Congress, I helped increase federal funding for career and technical education by $100 million – funding that will help Norwich Tech expand its capacity. Just recently, I joined my colleagues in requesting another long-overdue funding increase for Fiscal Year 2024 to support career and technical education. If we are serious about ensuring students have access to rewarding careers and employers have access to highly-qualified candidates, then we must deliver more federal support.”
SkillsUSA partners with employers and schools nationwide, including Norwich Technical High School, to ensure America has a skilled workforce. Students’ work culminates in a National Signing Day where they sign letters of intent for jobs with local employers. Today’s event in Norwich brought employers, administrators, educators, and local officials together to celebrate the students’ decisions. After graduating, students will enter apprenticeship programs or advanced training to prepare them for their jobs.
The Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins) has long provided states with funding to support career and technical education. In Fiscal Year 2023, Courtney helped increase funding for Perkins CTE State Grants by $50 million. However, adjusted for inflation, FY23 levels remain over $320 million below where they were nearly two decades ago, despite the fact that Perkins funding reaches roughly the same number of learners—nearly 12 million secondary and postsecondary CTE students— as it did at that time. In response, Courtney recently joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues in requesting a long-overdue funding increase for Fiscal Year 2024.