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“We believe that this will actually lead to a better workforce that is more geared towards being able to accomplish the skill sets that are required and will be able to do it quicker… There’s been a number of Members of Congress, like Marco Rubio, who have put forward ideas like this,” Russ Vought, Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget, said.

Miami, FL — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) applauded President Trump’s Executive Order, which closely resembles a proposal developed by Rubio, to modernize the federal government’s hiring practices to promote a skills-based protocol. The Executive Order signed today will allow candidates with proven skill sets, but who lack a traditional four-year degree, to be able to compete on a level playing field with those who did obtain a degree.
 
Currently, individuals who choose an alternative education credential (AEC), such as certificates earned through an apprenticeship program or demonstrating competency without any post-secondary education, can face obstacles from employers due to a failure to recognize the merit of non-traditional forms of education. In February, Rubio’s office met with Russ Vought, Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to discuss Rubio’s regulatory reform proposal that would address this failure by recognizing the value of training through non-traditional forms of education in meeting federal government workforce shortages.
 
“With more than 2.1 million employees, the federal government is the largest employer in our nation, but federal agencies’ outdated hiring practices that fail to recognize the value of non-traditional forms of education further inhibit our ability to meet workforce shortages,” Rubio said. “That’s why I developed a proposal to ensure the federal government institutes 21st century hiring practices that embrace the new ways people learn and acquire skills without having to go the traditional four-year college degree track. Today’s action by President Trump is a welcomed move to modernize the federal government’s hiring practices in order to promote a skills-based system that will both recognize the inherent value of non-traditional forms of education and ensure federal agencies can meet workforce shortages.”
 
In 2018, Rubio wrote an op-ed that argued that we “need a system that embraces the new ways people can learn and acquire skills without having to go the traditional four-year-college-degree track.” In February, the President enacted Rubio’s bipartisan Supporting Veterans in STEM Careers Act (S.153), which would assist veterans re-entering the workforce by removing barriers that prevent veterans’ training in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) from being appropriately considered for STEM careers within the federal government.