A stronger community college system and a more affordable post-secondary education, as recommended by the Obama administration, will benefit Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs).
The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAPPI) said these proposals are included in President Barack Obama’s “blueprint for an economy that is built to last.”
“The President understands that community colleges perform a powerful function in providing job skills and worker retraining so that people can be trained for the jobs of the 21st century,” WHIAAPI co-chair Chris Lu told a telephone press conference on February1.
“The emphasis that we are placing on them as engines of driving the economy is one that will help the AAPI community significantly,” he added.
The WHIAAPI, a federal interagency working group created to improve the quality of life of AAPIs, held a media briefing to discuss how president’s blueprint will affect members of the AAPI communities.
In his State of the Union address last January 24, Obama laid out “a blueprint for an economy that’s built to last.” To do this, he proposed, among others, enhancement of skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.”
The President noted that in the coming years, the US will need to fill “millions of mid- and high-level skilled positions in industries from healthcare to advanced manufacturing, clean energy to information technology.”
To address the imminent need for skilled workers, Obama proposed partnerships between businesses and community colleges, where individuals will train workers on skills that employers explicitly need.
In addition, he also proposed the creation of more career academies, which will combine instruction in academic subjects and industry skills.
WHIAAPI co-chair Lu said this will greatly impact AAPIs given that 40 percent of the population is enrolled in community colleges at present.
Still in keeping with the goal to train more skilled workers in the US, Obama in his speech, also pushed for Congress to help keep college costs affordable.
To keep tuition from spiraling, he urged lawmakers to stop the interest rate on subsidized Stafford student loans from doubling by July 2012. At the same time, he wants to make the American Opportunity Tax Credit permanent.
He also proposed the doubling over five years of the number of work-study jobs for college students who agree to work their way through school.
The White House noted that these proposals, while benefitting AAPIs will also help all communities in the US.
“Those are fundamental to all of our communities across the country and are fundamental to our collective future,” White House Domestic Policy Council director Cecilia Munoz said.
“While there are specifics that are consequential to AAPI community, the whole is very important,” she said in the media briefing.
The Obama administration is relying on an improved workforce to boost manufacturing and strengthen the US economy.
“What’s at stake is the very survival of the basic American promise that if you work hard, you can do well enough to raise a family, own a home, and put a little away for retirement,” the president said, adding, “When we act together, in common purpose and common effort, there is nothing the United States of America cannot achieve.”