On February 24th, Ro Khanna announced his Jobs Plan for the Bay Area's Future. In his speech at AccessClosure, a medical device manufacturing company in Santa Clara, Ro highlighted his seven point plan to bring jobs back home and to prepare workers for today's dynamic economy. Do you support Ro's Jobs Plan? How will it help you, your family, your business? We'd like your input. Each week during March, we'll feature a few of your stories in a blog. Will you be in our post?

1. RO KHANNA’S JOBS PLAN
FOR THE BAY AREA’S FUTURE
INCLUDE COMPUTER CODING IN
THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CURRICULUM
INVEST IN AND CREDENTIAL SCIENCE
TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND
MATH (STEM) EDUCATORS
INCREASE THE NUMBER OF WOMEN IN
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CAREERS
PREPARE YOUNG PEOPLE FOR ADVANCED
MANUFACTURING CAREERS
CONNECT SMALL BUSINESSES WITH CAPITAL
AND ACCESS TO THE EXPORT MARKET
PROVIDE JOB TRAINING AND TAX CREDITS
TO SUPPORT DISLOCATED WORKERS
INCREASE THE MINIMUM WAGE
TOMAKE SURE THAT WORK PAYS
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2. INCLUDE COMPUTER CODING IN
THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CURRICULUM
“The ability to code expands opportunity for
students from all backgrounds.”
Here in Silicon Valley, our kids are surrounded by the technology industry and
its promise of innovation and a brighter tomorrow. We should be exposing our
children to the practical applications of 21st century innovation early on. The ability
to code expands opportunity for students from all backgrounds. Our schools
should teach younger students the skills, like logic, that form the basic foundations
for computer coding, while courses for older kids should focus on programming
languages. In nearby Los Altos, the school district developed a program and
curriculum that teaches every one of the 500 students a weekly computer
science class. They were able to do so in a cost effective way since implementing
coding classes does not require expensive investments in software infrastructure.
Armed with the ability to code, students can take advantage of the huge demand
for new entrants into the technology workforce. In addition to preparing for
dynamic careers at existing companies, these students can develop the skills of
entrepreneurship
so they can launch
their own ventures –
creating new jobs and
keeping our economy
at the cutting-edge.

3. INVEST IN AND CREDENTIAL SCIENCE
TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING
AND MATH (STEM) EDUCATORS
“To properly educate and train the number of STEM
shortfall in credentialed STEM teachers.”
We know that the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workforce
is not close to meeting the current demand for these jobs. To properly educate
the shortfall in credentialed STEM teachers. All of our teachers – not just those
requires raising the standards for credentialing so that teachers have a thorough
knowledge of their subject areas. We must also provide our teachers with ongoing
those in other subjects. STEM teachers should have the opportunity to shadow
engineers at local companies or attend supplemental courses at community
colleges to learn about cutting-edge STEM research. Ro has also championed the
awarding of Department of Education
grants to districts and states that develop
cost-effective training programs for
STEM teachers. The states would be
reevaluated each year, giving them new
opportunities to compete and improve.
Additionally, the grant recipients would
have their best practices highlighted
from their approach.

4. INCREASE THE NUMBER OF
WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY CAREERS
“But only one in seven engineers is a woman.
We cannot continue to ignore half of our nation’s
potential STEM workforce.”
in other industries, and current job openings in STEM occupations outnumber
unemployed STEM workers two-to-one. But only one in seven engineers is
a woman. We cannot continue to ignore half of our nation’s potential STEM
workforce. We must focus on strategies to get young girls interested in science and
technology before social norms discourage participation in middle school and high
school. Here in Silicon Valley, female students have unique access to technology
and learn early on that working with computers and excelling at math is “cool.”
Private companies – like the womenonly software development training
program Hackbright Academy in San
Francisco – are making this a priority
and succeeding; in fact, Hackbright
already graduates more female software
engineers than either UC-Berkeley or
Stanford University. Ro believes that
we ought to open up the accreditation
process to innovative and cost-effective
programs that have high job placement
rates, including the Hackbright Academy
and General Assembly in New York.

5. PREPARE YOUNG
PEOPLE FOR ADVANCED
MANUFACTURING CAREERS
“Our community colleges are among the best in
the nation, but could be even better if they had
stronger ties with employers in the region.”
There are millions of jobs available in technology and high-skilled manufacturing –
including 3-D printing and robotics – that our workers do not have the expertise
Valley needs to lead in preparing students for advanced manufacturing careers. He
will push legislation that funds Department of Commerce grants for community
colleges that provide more practical job and skills training – and that have
demonstrated successful job placement. We should make credentialing systems
like the National Institute of Metalworking Skills (NIMS), computer numerical
control (CNC) machine training, and advanced robotics training more accessible.
Additionally, Ro will champion public-private partnerships between manufacturing
employers here in the 17th district and community colleges – including De Anza,
Ohlone, and Mission. Our community colleges are among the best in the nation, but
could be even better if they had stronger ties with employers in the region. At De
Anza College, many students already participate in a program called CompTechS,
their work. We need more programs
like CompTechS, which will ensure
workers they need, and schools have
the funding support and curriculum
development to supply them.

6. CONNECT SMALL BUSINESSES
WITH CAPITAL AND ACCESS TO
THE EXPORT MARKET
“To boost economic growth, we need to make it easier
for entrepreneurs and small business owners here in
Silicon Valley to access needed capital for expansion.”
Since the Great Recession, less credit has been available to small businesses. To
boost economic growth, we need to make it easier for entrepreneurs and small
business owners here in Silicon Valley to access needed capital for expansion. As
need mom-and-pop shops, restaurants, and other small businesses that provide jobs
and opportunity for many local families and immigrants. Ro will help them access
the capital they need – but might otherwise have trouble obtaining – by working
to connect entrepreneurs and investors through regular meetings and workshops
through his congressional website.
Additionally, we need to do a much better job of supporting businesses that
consumers live overseas, yet only about one percent of American companies
export. The San Francisco Bay Area is the fourth largest exporting region in the
U.S., and more than half of that output is generated by Silicon Valley. The 17th
district accounts for more total exports
than any other district in California, and
according to the Export-Import Bank, 38
small businesses in the district already are
exporting their products. As a former U.S.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce,
Ro is committed to using his expertise to
expand export opportunities – particularly
for small businesses that may not have
considered it before.

7. PROVIDE JOB TRAINING AND
TAX CREDITS TO SUPPORT
DISLOCATED WORKERS
“This region has the capacity to employ workers
in many diverse industries if members of our
community have access to the training they need.”
Long-term unemployment threatens our country’s ability to fully recover
from the Great Recession, and structural changes in the economy have made
retraining efforts more important than ever. After the NUMMI plant closed
in Fremont in 2010, Ro helped secure a federal grant to retrain workers who
had lost their jobs and needed help applying their skills to the employment
opportunities in the area. This region has the capacity to employ workers in
many diverse industries if members of our community have access to the
training they need. This includes
providing training to workers who
have had their hours reduced – not
just those who are unemployed.
Additionally, businesses that operate
in areas with high unemployment
that hire long-term unemployed
workers, middle-career workers,
out-of-work veterans, and people
receiving the federal earned
income tax credit, should receive
Americans back to work.

8. INCREASE THE MINIMUM WAGE TO
MAKE SURE THAT WORK PAYS
“It is essential for people who work hard to have
a baseline of economic security so that they can
provide for themselves and their families.”
No one in our country who works full time should have to live in poverty. That’s
why it is essential to raise the minimum wage. Congress has never provided an
declined. Ro has proposed raising the minimum wage to $10.74 – what it would
in the country, and twice the national rate of households making over $100,000 a
the growing number of people living in
poverty in our region. Median family income
hit an 11-year low in 2011, with the share
of households making less than $35,000 a
year (the poverty level for a family of four)
steadily rising. It is essential for people who
work hard to have a baseline of economic
security so that they can provide for
themselves and their families. A minimum
ensure that work pays for everyone who
holds a job.
PAID FOR BY RO FOR CONGRESS
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