# Understanding the Connecting Small Businesses with Career and Technical Education Graduates Act

This bill creates a bridge between small businesses and students graduating from career and technical education programs—like vocational schools, trade programs, and community college certifications. Right now, small business owners often struggle to find skilled workers, while graduates of programs like electrician training, nursing, welding, or HVAC certification don't always know where job opportunities exist. This bill aims to solve that problem by requiring the government's small business support centers to actively connect these two groups.

The bill makes changes to two main government programs that already help small businesses. Small Business Development Centers, which exist in communities across the country to provide free consulting and training to entrepreneurs, would now be required to educate business owners about hiring graduates from career and technical programs and to tell them which programs exist in their area that match their hiring needs. These centers would also need to do the reverse—tell students and graduates about the resources available to help them start their own businesses. Similarly, Women's Business Centers, which specifically support women entrepreneurs, would get the same requirements to connect women business owners with skilled workers from technical education programs and help those graduates understand what support is available to them.

Essentially, this bill turns existing small business support services into matchmakers. Instead of small business owners and technical school graduates operating in separate worlds, the government's support infrastructure would actively work to introduce them to each other. For small business owners, this means easier access to information about trained workers in their area. For technical education graduates, this means learning about both job opportunities with small businesses and resources to start their own ventures. The bill doesn't create new programs or spending—it just adds these connection duties to services that already exist.

Connecting Small Businesses with Career and Technical Education Graduates Act of 2025

Williams, Roger

Connecting Small Businesses with Career and Technical Education Graduates Act of 2025This bill requires Small Business Development Centers and Women's Business Centers to provide educational information to small businesses about hiring graduates of career and technical education programs.This includes, as appropriate, connecting small businesses with career and technical education programs to assist students and graduates of such programs with identifying career opportunities.