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Washington
–
As
the
White
House
prepares
to
make
new
announcements
on
workforce
development
this
week,
U.S.
Senator
Tim
Scott
continues
his
years
long
work
in
this
area.
The
Senator’s
bipartisan
LEAP
Act
incentivizes
companies
to
expand
their
apprenticeship
programs
using
a
South
Carolina-style
model
to
help
folks
earn
while
they
learn.
“I
am
excited
to
see
the
White
House
put
workforce
development
and
the
skills
gap
at
the
forefront,”
Senator
Scott
said.
“Whether
it
be
the
SKILLS
Act
passed
a
couple
of
years
ago,
my
bipartisan
LEAP
Act
that
I
introduced
in
this
Congress,
or
encouraging
career
and
technical
education,
there
are
some
concrete
steps
we
can
take
to
ensure
the
needs
of
employers
better
match
the
skills
of
our
workforce.
This
is
an
exciting
week,
and
I
look
forward
to
working
with
the
White
House
and
my
colleagues
in
Congress
to
make
these
solutions
a
reality.”
Many
employers
explain
the
reason
for
their
unfilled
jobs
as
a
lack
of
available
trained
workers.
Apprenticeships
are
a
proven
way
to
help
people
develop
in-demand
skills
and
to
meet
the
needs
of
employers,
yet
they
compose
just
0.2
percent
of
the
nation’s
workforce.
By
2020,
the
United
States
is
expected
to
experience
a
shortage
of
3
million
workers
with
associate
degrees
or
higher
and
5
million
workers
with
technical
certificates
and
credentials.
Key
pieces
of
the
LEAP
Act
include:
- Offering
a
federal
tax
credit
for
hiring
new
apprentices
that
are
registered
with
the
U.S.
Department
of
Labor
or
a
state
apprenticeship
agency.
- Addressing
the
fact
that
the
average
age
of
apprentices
is
currently
as
high
as
29
by
offering
a
reduced
tax
credit
of
$1,000
for
apprentices
over
25.
The
tax
credit
for
apprentices
under
25
is
$1,500.
- Being
fully
paid
for
through
an
offset:
cutting
printing
waste
by
barring
the
federal
government
from
producing
publications
that
are
available
online
with
an
exception
for
seniors,
Medicare
recipients
and
in
communities
with
limited
internet
access.
In
2016
in
the
U.S.
there
were
approximately
505,000
active
apprentices
in
registered
apprenticeship
programs.
By
contrast,
in
Germany
nearly
50
percent
of
all
young
people
go
through
apprenticeship
programs.
Studies
show
that
apprenticeships
are
a
wise
investment
for
both
participants
and
the
U.S.
government:
individuals
who
complete
registered
apprenticeship
programs
earn
over
$240,000
more
over
their
careers
than
people
who
did
not
participate
in
such
programs,
and
the
tax
return
on
every
Federal
Government
dollar
invested
in
registered
apprenticeship
programs
is
$27.
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