I would like to thank you, Chairman Castle, and the members of the Education Reform subcommittee, for inviting me to appear before you today. I will be discussing the personnel needs of high-tech companies and the role of career and technical education.

When Congress passed the Smith-Hughes Act in 1917, one of its intentions was to move the U.S. from an agrarian to a manufacturing economy. To make that transition, Smith-Hughes established federal support for the education and training of citizens. Its focus was on people. To be successful as an economy, CTE was established as a way of keeping people up-to-date. In my opinion, that is still CTE’s mission today. Perkins is still in the business of keeping students up-to-date but to-up-date to serve a highly technical economy in order to satisfy the mission.

Intelitek is part of the new high-tech economy. We look for employees with new and broader knowledge and skills than the economy of the past. Intelitek produces Computer Numerically Controlled bench-top machines, Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems and CAD/CAM software. Our customers in greater than 100 Fortune 500 companies as well as over 5000 domestic and worldwide corporations are using our machines in high-volume production; graphite electrode machining; mold making; rapid prototyping; and high-precision machining.

We are also a leading developer, producer and supplier of comprehensive solutions for training in engineering, automated production and manufacturing. We design and produce automated workcells for training anywhere from small-scaled flexible manufacturing systems to complete computer integrated manufacturing systems. These training systems have been installed in over 20,000 businesses, colleges, universities and schools both domestic and worldwide.

I’m sure all of that sounds very high tech. . and it is. (It would have sounded even more high tech if I’d used the acronyms I usually would like…. CAD, CAM, CIM and CNC.) The people who work in my industry have titles such as Robotic Technicians, CAD/CAM Designer and Industrial Engineer. Each of these people requires education and training beyond high school. The technology they employ is central to American advances in productivity but, in the end, it isn’t the technology that is important. It’s the people. Our people have the knowledge and ability to stay up-to-date . . .and that’s the mission of career and technical education.

There are at least three things that I look for in an employee. One is a solid grounding in academics. At Intelitek, we expect that our employees—and the people who design, build, service and maintain our machines and software— have a working knowledge of math, science and language skills.

Second, I’m looking for technical skills. Our employees must have above average computer skills, understand the principles of hydraulics, pneumatics, programmable logic controls, sensors, process control, mechanisms, electronics, vision and mechanical measurement and quality control systems, robotics, CAD/CAM/CNC and: automation…. how these technologies all work together. Too often, however, people believe that academic achievement is a replacement for technical skills. It isn’t. Successful employees must be able to apply their knowledge, consistently, for my company to succeed . . . and those technical skills are learned through hands-on application, not through theory. To me, that’s the genius behind CTE. It teaches academics through application . . .it teaches the theoretical and the application. Both are essential. That’s one reason why Intelitek is a signatory to the National Association of State Directors of CTE consortium in support of career and technical education.

Third, I look for what some people call "soft skills" and others call "employability skills." These are the goal-setting, resource management and communications skills. One of the most important skills in high tech industries is teamwork. That’s not academics: that’s real people skills. High tech industries don’t have individuals manufacturing parts; we have teams managing processes. Every team member has to do his or her part for the team to be successful. These skills are taught in CTE by student organizations such as SkillsUSA, an association Intelitek has supported for many years.

I have worked for 12 years with SkillsUSA, one of the student organizations authorized for funding under Perkins. I serve on the board of SkillsUSA’s Youth Development Foundation and on the contest technical committees for Automated Manufacturing Technology and Robotics and Automation Technology. All 77 of the SkillsUSA Championships contests are run using industry standards for entry-level employment and they are updated regularly to keep the competitions current with industry needs and practices. Both of the contests Intelitek supports are team contests to parallel practice in industry.

In my opinion, the Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) are one of the most important features of career and technical education. They should receive stronger support in the legislation for at least three reasons:

First, CTSOs are applied methods of instruction for teaching what industry considers essential: employability skills. The student organizations help students learn and practice their employability, technical and academic skills. They also help students to develop positive attitudes and ethics. There is a CTSO for every occupational area in CTE. Organization activities, such as community service projects, allow students to put their skills into practice and into context. Furthermore, CTSOs provide some of the best public promotion in career and technical.

Second, CTSOs connect students to their instructors, to their communities and to each other. When people talk about the value of mentoring—particularly when it’s said that teachers should serve as mentors to their students—the model is already there in the student organizations.

Third, the CTSOs are partnerships with business and industry. SkillsUSA has over 1,000 corporations, trade associations, businesses and unions working as association partners at the national level alone. I know the other CTSOs also have business partners. The CTSOs are a place where we in business can become directly involved at local, state and national levels with training programs, instructors and students.

I recommend that more be done to build this important resource in CTE, particularly by supporting state departments of education to lead CTSOs and to support their activities. The student organizations are good for students, good for instructional programs and instructors, good for promoting CTE and the careers CTE serves, and they are certainly good for business.

I’m going to close with three recommendations to the committee regarding the Perkins Act. I look forward to amplifying these points during this hearing.

First, stay the course. As Congress intended, the Perkins Act has already had an impact on the academic achievement of students and articulation between high school and postsecondary instruction. Both were needed and both need to continue.

Increase funding for CTE. I ask our government to continue to invest with me…. Small employers have historically counted upon CTE as a source of training for their new hires more than any other source. Some smaller states, such as New Hampshire, weigh heavily on federal support to maintain their CTE programs. Furthermore, the instructional facilities themselves are used by industry to update training for their employees. I have invested in employee training to assure my organizations survival. As an employee benefit I offer tuition reimbursement as well as internal corporate training programs. I do this to remain competitive in a global industrial market. I need the competitive advantage that career and technical education provides my organization. I must do it now…quicker, smarter, cheaper and all, at less cost.

Integrate industry standards and certification such as NIMS (National Institute of Metalworking Skills) into CTE high school and postsecondary instructional programs. These are industry lead and defined to assure that education and industry communicate with one another to provide the most proficient technical skills required for success employment in the workforce.

Chairman Castle, and members of the committee, I wish to thank you once again for asking me to appear before you today along with this distinguished panel. I would like to conclude by commending you—the members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce—for your continuing and farsighted work, to keep today’s students, and tomorrow’s future workforce up-to-date and prepared to support America’s economy and democracy.