On behalf of the Jobs and Careers Coalition (JCC), we appreciate the HELP Committee’s July 27 executive session to markup five bills drafted to address America’s workforce shortages. Despite job gains, the disconnect between job openings and workers filling those jobs is such that there would be 1.9 million more workers on the payrolls if the Labor Force Participation Rate was the same as in February 2020. The JCC is a Washington, DC-based business group focused on job training and workforce development. Members include employers and employer associations from a broad range of industries experiencing skills mismatches and worker shortages – construction, manufacturing, IT, retail, hospitality and healthcare among others. For many decades, American higher education has skewed toward traditional academic offerings and bachelor’s degrees at the expense of programs that prepare students to meet growing demand for technical skills. Fortunately, this is changing as community colleges and other institutions step up to fill the void by offering shorter-term, job-focused programs developed in partnership with employers.