Authorizing Council's Committee on Education and the Committee on Global Opportunities and the Creative/Innovative Economy to investigate and develop a pilot Vocational Education and Training (VET) program and to recommend a legislative framework to implement a City-wide program.

WHEREAS, Council's Committee on Global Opportunities and the Creative/Innovative Economy held a series of public hearings on Philadelphia's global competitiveness on October 9-10, 2012, February 25, 2013, and February 27, 2013; the expert witnesses offered a common theme of concern for a lack of skilled workers and a lack of work ethic or foundational skills required for entry-level positions; and

WHEREAS,

Council's Committee on Education and the Committee on Global Opportunities and the Creative/Innovative Economy held a joint hearing on June 17, 2013 to examine best practices in education on a global basis that resulted in similar findings identifying a lack of skilled workers in Philadelphia compared to countries where VET programs are common in their education systems; and

WHEREAS,

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, since 2007, approximately 20,526 students dropped out of Philadelphia public high schools and youth unemployment rate in Philadelphia has climbed to 21.9%; and

WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia is challenged by three critical workforce development needs: 1) a shortage of technological skills in the labor force; 2) a large pool of low-skilled labor, including young people who must be trained with new skills; and 3) roughly 300,000 ex-offenders requiring re-entry training and employment; and

WHEREAS,

The dual system of Vocational Education and Training (VET), combining part-time classroom instruction with a part-time apprenticeship at a host company, has been proven highly effective in lowering unemployment and developing solid workforce pipelines for meeting the skills demanded by local companies. Some of the best practices can be observed in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria; and

WHEREAS, The effectiveness of VET in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria can be attributed to a fully integrated dual system of VET in their education systems complimented by high social acceptance and status of vocational careers; and

WHEREAS,

The pilot VET project, through a public-private partnership, will demonstrate successful best practices in VET such as an aptitude test, on-the-job training, certification, and educational enthusiasm; and

WHEREAS, Expanding innovative mentoring and apprenticeship programs will be vital to achieving high student learning and high outcomes of the Philadelphia School District along with addressing the City's workforce development needs to sustain and grow local industries; now, therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA,

That it hereby authorizes Council's Committee on Education and the Committee on Global Opportunities and the Creative/Innovative Economy to investigate and develop a pilot Vocational Education and Training (VET) program and to recommend a legislative framework to implement a City-wide program.

End