EC Georgia News

Congressman Rick W. Allen (R-GA) is at the forefront of an initiative to revamp workforce systems through the reintroduction of the Validate Prior Learning to Accelerate Employment Act. The focus of this act is the acknowledgment and validation of skills gained from various sources as a way to confront workforce challenges and encourage skills-based hiring. As stated by Allen, part of this campaign involves progressing past the economy's dependence on four-year college degrees.

"Allen, Stefanik, Steel, Letlow re-introduce bill to modernize the workplace to effectively identify and validate workers’ skills", was announced in a recent legislative move.

"Too often qualified job seekers who possess valuable skills from prior work experience are overlooked by employers. But having started my own construction business, I know firsthand how important it is to hire employees with the skills necessary to step right into the job. With nearly ten million unfilled jobs across our nation, it is imperative we move past the status quo and recognize that a four-year college degree is not the only measure of what a worker can bring to the table. That’s why I am proud to join my colleagues in re-introducing the Validate Prior Learning to Accelerate Employment Act, which will help ensure employers can find qualified job candidates through skills-based hiring and empower more individuals to achieve the American Dream," said Congressman Rick W. Allen.

Accordingly, this legislation plans on amending the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act with an emphasis on enhancing competency-based assessments usage within workforce systems. It encourages states' collaboration with industry organizations, employers, training providers, local workforce boards, and higher education institutions in creating or identifying assessments for evaluating an individual's knowledge, skills, and abilities with personalizing employment plans as its main objective.

The bill indicates that workforce development programs can consider factors such as previous work experience, military service, education and locally in-demand industries for faster career progression or employment attainment for individuals. Furthermore, it lends support to employers implementing skills-based hiring practices, which include employment assessments.

According to Rick W. Allen's representative website, he has served as the representative for Georgia's 12th District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2014. Currently, he holds positions in both the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.