LANHAM, MD – Today, a bipartisan group of members of the House Education and Workforce Committee toured the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) in Lanham, MD, which is jointly run by Local Union 26 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the Washington, D.C. chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). Congressman Donald Norcross, who began his career as an apprentice electrician, helped organize and lead the tour that included eight other bipartisan members of the Education and Workforce Committee.

“My electrical apprenticeship training allowed me to learn-and-earn, so I could support a young family while learning a trade. It set me on a path toward a fulfilling, family-sustaining career, and it ultimately led me to serve in Congress,” said Congressman Norcross. “Apprenticeship training helped me achieve my goals in life, just as it does for thousands of men and women across America every year. Training centers like these offer invaluable education and instruction, so I was eager to show fellow members of the Education and Workforce Committee what they do first-hand and learn what we can do together to raise awareness of their efforts to train the next generation of America’s workers.”

Norcross is the only electrician in Congress and worked for years installing and restoring power for New Jersey homes, businesses and industrial sites before being elected to Congress. Including the JATC in Lanham, North America’s Building Trades Unions run over 1,900 apprenticeship training programs across the US, making it among the largest education providers in the country. If compared to America’s public university system, it would be the third largest such system in the United States.

Norcross added: “America needs a well-trained workforce to help build our future, and apprenticeship training centers like these are critical to our success. That’s why I introduced the 529 OPTIONS Act in Congress to help make apprenticeship training more accessible and affordable. Some students want to go to college, while others want to build the college, and we need to be supporting them all.”

Related Content

• Norcross introduced the 529 OPTIONS Act in Congress to help make apprenticeship training more accessible to America’s students.
• Norcross was selected to serve on the bipartisan House and Senate Joint Select Committee on Multiemployer Pensions on February 23, 2018.
• Norcross was named Co-Chair of House Democrats’ “Rebuilding America” task force on September 13, 2017.
• Norcross hosted colleagues in South Jersey for a day-long forum on ‘The Future of Work, Wages and Labor’ on August 4, 2017.
• Norcross founded the Congressional Building Trades Caucus, which launched a bipartisan infrastructure series on April 5, 2017.
• Norcross was appointed to serve on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and he vowed to represent New Jersey working families on January 5, 2017.

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Contact: Ally Kehoe, Communications Director
ally.kehoe@mail.house.gov