Perkins V Funding at Risk: How Cutting Career & Technical Education Threatens America's Workforce

Perkins V (which was updated under Trump July 1, 2019) is fully funded through the US Department of Education. This federal legislation funds most of  the career and technical education (formerly called trades) in the US. If cut, the following workforce would be directly impacted and irrevocably harmed. I have listed the career clusters and some examples in each of those fields to illustrate the point, but there is much more!

Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources (e.g., Animal Science, Culinary Arts)
Architecture & Construction (e.g., Carpentry, HVAC & Refrigeration Technology)
Arts & Communication (e.g., Commercial Art & Design Media, Digital Media & Sound Communication)
Business & Information Systems (e.g., Computer Information Systems, Marketing & Financial Services)
Engineering & Industrial Technologies (e.g., Engineering & Robotics, Welding & Metal Fabrication)
Healthcare & Human Services (e.g., Cosmetology, Criminal Justice & Police Sciences, Early Childhood Care & Education)
Transportation (e.g., Automotive Service Technology, Engine Technology).

The STEM Educator Initiative has been providing support to CTE states and secondary and postsecondary education since 2018 and has been highly effective in improving measurable school, teacher, and student outcomes. The  work, expertise, and support of local and national nonprofits will also be lost with the loss of Perkins V funding. But what will be most impacted are the educators and the students preparing for careers that directly support our economy and our communities. Consider the COVID years. The employees that sustained our country and were considered essential were almost all CTE workers (logistics, health care, technical support, electrical and plumbing, and more). There are no state defaults for this work. Federal funds flow to the states and they implement it. Losing this funding will be disaster for our country's workforce and businesses.