Training for high-skilled jobs, refinancing of student loans

Higher education is the greatest investment we can make in our future.

Technical education and career training have been priorities during my tenure as mayor of Lexington.

I partnered with Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and private sector leaders to create the Bluegrass Economic Advancement Movement (BEAM), an initiative to turn central Kentucky into a hub for advanced manufacturing.

Through the BEAM initiative, technical training is a priority. With Gov. Steve Beshear, the legislature, Toyota and Bluegrass Community Technical College as partners, we are opening a training center next to Toyota’s campus in Georgetown. This facility will prepare Kentucky workers for good paying, high-skilled jobs. When people need or want to transition their career, this approach offers mobility.

Students must be well prepared whether that be a formal college degree program or technical training to compete in a global economy. A degree should provide a path to a viable career for recent high school graduates and for experienced workers starting a new chapter in their careers.

College must be affordable for all. Continuing education should not leave students with a mountain of debt. I support common-sense proposals like capping interest rates on student debt and refinancing student debt at lower rates.

One measure I believe should be enacted immediately is Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s “In the Red” act. This bill would make two years of free community college a reality, allow students to refinance their loans at affordable rates, and index Pell Grants to inflation so they keep pace with skyrocketing costs.

Congress needs to do a better job of prioritizing our children and their success. I will work with Republicans and Democrats to find a way to reduce the cost of college so that fewer families are forced to resort to debt to cover tuition bills.

Rand Paul has opposed student loan refinancing, offered policy proposals that would favor the wealthy over the middle class, and even publicly mocked college students struggling with debt.

Unlike my opponent, I know we need to do everything we can to help our students succeed, because it is government’s job to help encourage and create high-paying jobs and grow the middle class.

This story was originally published October 28, 2016 at 6:47 PM with the headline "Training for high-skilled jobs, refinancing of student loans."