By Ben Barnett, President of Principal Manufacturing –
Illinois manufacturers face a serious problem. We have modern, high-tech facilities running at full capacity, but we struggle to find the young talent needed to keep our shop floors moving in years to come.
At Principal Manufacturing here in Broadview, we experience the skills gap firsthand every single day. We need young people to fill the roles of their aging skilled counterparts as they near retirement. Yet, our state continues to push policies that make it harder for students to discover skills-based careers.
Starting with the 2028 school year, the State of Illinois will require all high school students to complete 2 years of world language classes to graduate. Learning to communicate in different languages holds value, but we must look at the reality of a high school student’s daily schedule.
When you force students to dedicate two years to a foreign language, you squeeze out the precious few elective hours they have to begin with. For a student interested in the high-tech trades, that means sacrificing tooling, machining, welding, or drafting classes. It cuts off their exposure to the industry before they even have a chance to strike an arc or program a CNC machine.
We can change this trajectory right now. The Technology & Manufacturing Association (TMA) is backing a crucial piece of legislation that will allow high school students to take Career Technical Education (CTE) classes as an alternative to the coming foreign language class. This bill, Senate Bill 3070, provides a direct, sensible solution to a problem that threatens both our young people’s futures and our local economy.
For decades, society has pushed a single narrative: success requires a four-year college degree. We told students they must follow a traditional academic path, racking up thousands of dollars in student loan debt along the way. That mindset is outdated and financially destructive for many individuals and families. Today, a student can walk out of high school with a CTE background, step onto a manufacturing floor, and begin a career that pays near six figures within a few short years. They can buy a house, start a family, and build wealth entirely free of college debt. Yet, this coming state mandate threatens it all.
CTE instructors at high schools across Chicago, the suburbs, and around the state are sounding the alarm. They see how this new foreign language requirement endangers already vulnerable high school vocational programs. When enrollment drops because students are forced into other classes to graduate, schools will cut these vital CTE programs. Once a school removes its machining equipment or sells off its welding bays, those programs almost never come back.
SB 3070 offers a smart compromise. It gives students the freedom to choose. If a teenager wants to study French or Spanish, they can. But if another student wants to use those two years to master computer-aided design, electrical wiring, or advanced manufacturing, they can use those CTE courses to fulfill their graduation requirement instead.
Passing this legislation will create a massive positive ripple effect. For students, it means high school becomes a true launching pad for their specific interests. They can spend their junior and senior years gaining real skills that businesses desperately need. For the manufacturing industry, it provides a lifeline. Facilities like Principal Manufacturing can partner with local schools, knowing that students actually have the time in their schedules to learn the foundational skills of our industry.
We need to build a coalition of parents, teachers, superintendents, and business owners to push this bill across the finish line. The opposition will argue that a traditional academic checklist is the only way to create a well-rounded student. We must remind them that a young person who understands how to build, troubleshoot, and manufacture the products we rely on every day is exactly the kind of well-rounded citizen our state needs.
It is time to stop limiting our students with rigid, one-size-fits-all requirements. Let us respect the trades, value hands-on learning, and give the next generation the tools they need to build debt-free, highly successful futures. I urge our state lawmakers to support SB 3070, protect CTE in our high schools, and keep Illinois manufacturing strong for decades to come.
Ben Barnett is President of Principal Manufacturing. First published in The Center Sqaure April 22, 2026