Biden Recognizes "Infrastructure Talent Pipeline Challenge"

President Biden remarked about the Infrastructure Talent Pipeline Challenge yesterday. The Infrastructure Talent Pipeline Challenge is a nationwide call to action for employers, unions, education and training providers, states, local governments, Tribes, territories, philanthropic organizations, and other stakeholders to make tangible commitments that support equitable workforce development focused on three critical sectors: broadband, construction, and electrification. 

Biden said “more than 350 organizations across the country” committed to the challenge.

The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), along with the CHIPS and Science Act, Inflation Reduction Act, and American Rescue Plan, are creating jobs for Americans, but also ensuring that these workers have the proper training for the jobs. 

The private, public, and non-profit sector commitments complement the Administration’s investments in workforce development and help ensure a diverse set of workers have a fair shot at the good jobs created.

According to a press release, tradespeople from unions participating in the Challenge demonstrated how they train workers in skills critical to implementing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These include:

• Communications Workers of America (CWA) demonstrated fiber splicing, an essential task that joins fiber cables together and is a key part of expanding access to affordable broadband across the country.
• International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC) demonstrated how to create a brick-and-mortar solid structure vital to foundations, dams, walls, and the construction of buildings.
• United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC) demonstrated how their members train welders using a virtual reality (VR) simulator.
• International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) used a VR simulator to demonstrate training in professional painting techniques.
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) demonstrated how they train members in the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP) to install and maintain EV chargers and showcase an electronic switchboard station used to train apprentice electricians.
• Teamsters aviation mechanics demonstrated how they train members to service, repair, and overhaul aircraft components and systems.
• United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry (UA) showcased a centralized gas distribution system found in hospitals and care facilities, where gasses are delivered through complex piping systems.

Intermediary organizations assisted in catalyzing commitments for the Challenge.These commitments will complement new and ongoing federal investments and administrative actions, including:

• The Department of Labor (DOL) will announce an $80 million competition to support training in eligible infrastructure occupations. DOL will also uplift a new Training and Employment Notice to help infrastructure project leads and other stakeholders implement BIL with strong workforce commitments and proven strategies that produce high-quality education, training, and employment opportunities for all workers.
• The Department of Transportation (DOT) will release a checklist on quality jobs and workforce planning for the $125 billion in competitive grants it will award through BIL, to help applicants develop plans for workforce training and equity in their applications. 
• The Department of Commerce (DOC) released its Internet for All Workforce Planning Guide, which helps states and territories develop a workforce plan as required by the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. The guide includes strategies to support a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive telecommunications workforce.

For more information on yesterday's event, click here.

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Source: WhiteHouse.gov