Trump’s Education Nominee Calls for Tech Vocational Programs

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of Education Linda McMahon, former head of the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) executive, said developing tech vocational programs and investing in small businesses will help maintain superiority in the global tech race.

McMahon said at Recode’s 2018 Code Conference the government needs to invest more in small technology businesses during her keynote address.

“I still believe that America needs to be the number one technology country in the world, and we need to continue to invest in that,” said McMahon during her keynote. “Working more with the small business community to make sure those inventions, that technology that they’re working … can be commercialized, so they can actually be developed and applied.” 

McMahon said the U.S. needs to support vocational programs, similar to how traditional college pathways are funded, to boost the nation’s tech expertise. In September, McMahon wrote the opinion piece, titled “Workforce Pell Grants will create high-paying jobs for more Americans,” expressing how these programs will boost the economy and keep a steady workforce.

“For example, software development ‘boot camps‘ that teach coding and other skills related to digital infrastructure led to salary increases of $10,000 to $20,000 for almost all participants and increases of more than $30,000 for nearly half,” wrote McMahon. “Yet Pell Grants, the main form of financial assistance for low-income families trying to help boost their child’s career prospects, cannot be used to pay for these programs, leaving behind countless underserved communities. Pretending college is the path for everyone is incredibly outdated.”

All4Ed’s Director of Professional Learning and Leadership Adam Phyall spoke with GovCIO Media & Research about McMahon’s support for vocational programs.

Phyall said many jobs require understanding of technology, and educators want to ensure the resources are available to students at all levels. Phyall added the future tech workforce will rely on a combination of training in addition to updated technology and policy.

“[When we are] talking about cybersecurity, digital citizenship, these things are so important for our students. Some of our educators aren’t experts in those fields. Ensuring that we have the resources in place to either hire the staff or pay for support to get our staff comfortable, and support our students with their cybersecurity and digital access, is paramount as well,” said Phyall.

Robert Daugherty, former dean of Forbes School of Business and Technology told GovCIO Media & Research that, if confirmed by the Senate, McMahon will likely create policy that centers vocational learning.

“[It’s important to have] that ethos and [develop] public policies around how you create incentives to get people to go to vocational schools,” said Daugherty. “Celebrating pathways to vocational education will do a lot of good, because it doesn’t matter if you have a college degree.”