Tommy Goodwin is Vice President for the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA), an association dedicated to the advancement of the business events industry. He leads ECA’s advocacy and member engagement work on behalf of the interconnected ecosystem of exhibitors, show and event organizers, suppliers, venues and destinations that comprise the global business events landscape.
In January, the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA) released its 2024 public policy agenda.
The headline: ECA is ‘all in’ on supporting government policies to help you attract and train the business events industry’s future workforce.
Why? Our industry has a skilled workforce shortage. But it’s not just us. Our country has a skilled workforce shortage, and working together, we can make a difference.
How is ECA helping? In Washington, DC we are advocating for two bipartisan bills in Congress with the potential to be game changers for the industry.
Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act
The first bill, the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act, would help more Americans get good-paying jobs by allowing students to use federal Pell Grants to pay for short-term job training programs for the first time.
How will this help? Last year, the U.S. government spent $23.9 billion on Pell Grants.
By expanding which programs are eligible for Pell Grant support, the government can help close the skills gap and provide workers with the job training and credentials they need for careers in high-demand industries like ours.
"It's not enough to just attract and grow the ranks of a depleted workforce,” said Chris Griffin, president of the Experiential Designers and Producers Association, which is deeply engaged on future workforce issues.
“We must be able to train and develop new industry professionals into high value employees, and this bill will help us do just that,” Griffin added.
Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act
The second bill, the Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act, would give Americans the flexibility to use 529 college savings plans funds to cover the cost of certain workforce training and credentialing programs.
By covering tuition, exam and training costs associated with obtaining workforce certifications and licenses, this bill would transform 529 plans from college saving plans into career savings plans and help workers secure good-paying jobs like those that we offer.
“We should take every opportunity to help individuals build up their careers and thus build up the economy,” said Jeff Evans, American Society of Association Executives public policy director and head of the Tomorrow’s Workforce Coalition.
“Expanding 529s will do that, and ECA’s efforts have helped the Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act gain more than 100 cosponsors in the House,” Evans continued.
What's next
Here’s the good news: Momentum is growing in Congress for both bills.
In December, the House of Representatives Education & Workforce Committee advanced the Pell Grant bill with an overwhelming bipartisan majority.
Meanwhile, more than 100 bipartisan members of Congress are supporting the 529 bill.
In 2024, ECA is ‘all in’ to get these bills passed by Congress and signed by President Biden before the end of the year.
Want to get involved? On May 30, ECA will host its annual Legislative Action Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Come share your story and tell your elected officials why attracting and training the next generation workforce is good for our industry and the country at large!
