July Jobs Report Shows Need for Strategic Workforce Training
gvw_inside_sources
By InsideSources.com
Published 7 years ago on
August 5, 2018

Share

The latest Department of Labor jobs report released Friday for the month of July once again has great news for workers, but bad news for employers: America has more open jobs (approximately 6.7 million) than it has unemployed workers to fill them (6.3 million).
This type of labor market can make the business community nervous, but employers do have options, including doing their part to grow the American workforce.

Portrait of Cindy Cisneros
Opinion
Cindy Cisneros
I am not talking about workforce growth through birth rates or immigration policies; I am talking about increasing the American workforce through the type of skills training that can bring the long-term unemployed population back into the labor market. Because America is not actually short on workers — we are short on skilled workers and those who are actively looking for work. If employers encourage and welcome some key groups back into the “actively looking” category, they will once again have a labor market that is on their side.

Americans Need Skills to Return to Workforce

Americans who have dropped out of the workforce — for reasons that range from job loss to child rearing to military service — can face discrimination. They may be demoralized, and they may lack the specific skills that employers are looking for. Those who have recently entered the workforce (new high school or college graduates) can experience similar barriers — a lack of skills, networks and confidence. All of these obstacles can be overcome through strategic, relevant and continuing workforce training.
Workers who lost their jobs during the recession and have given up trying to find a job can be — in the context of meaningful training and an unbalanced job market — not an economic liability, but an important untapped resource. The same is true of veterans, older workers and women or other caregivers who are re-entering the workforce after time away.
There is encouraging evidence that the business community, and leaders in government, have already begun to engage in this task of growing the workforce through more intentional skills training. In July, a group of employers (including FedEx, General Motors, Home Depot, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Walmart) gathered at the White House to sign a pledge to train almost 4 million workers by expanding apprenticeship programs, increasing on-the-job training, and educating both students and workers throughout their careers.

President Trump Backs Workforce Training

On that day, President Trump signed an executive order establishing the National Council for the American Worker — a group of Cabinet members and senior White House officials who are now developing a strategy for skills training. The president’s order also created a Workforce Policy Advisory Board designed to bring together governors with business leaders and educators around the issue of worker training.
It is encouraging to see these collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors. On the employer side, apprenticeship and return-to-work programs are beginning to look like a growing trend. Aon has demonstrated that apprenticeship programs are not just for blue-collar workers, and has shared their own template with a group of other major employers in the Chicago area as part of a larger “Chicago Apprentice Network.” Goldman Sachs is among a handful of companies offering opportunities specifically to workers who have left the workforce for two or more years and are ready to return but need an on-ramp of skills development.

High School and Employers Team Up

In the education sector, there is interesting potential in high school programs that partner with local employers to offer on-the-job-training, for high school credit, to students. Work-based learning opportunities are seen as a key to success by ensuring readiness for this young adult population. “Working colleges,” where students are required to work as part of the curriculum, could also experience an expansion across the country to help meet current labor market needs.
Strategic workforce training is the rare solution that receives enthusiastic support from all sectors and both major political parties. This creates an opportunity ripe for innovation and bold action. Employers who are anxious about the latest labor report should not worry; they should reach out, welcome back, and train forward.
About the Author
Cindy Cisneros is the vice president of education programs at the Committee for Economic Development. She wrote this for InsideSources.com.

DON'T MISS

23 for ’23: A Year in Photos

DON'T MISS

See How this Fresno roastery sends aid to Northern Thailand.

DON'T MISS

District Says Fresno Teachers Contract Proposal Would Bankrupt Budget Reserves by Year 3

DON'T MISS

Trump Vows to Ban Gaza Refugees, Expand Muslim Travel Ban If He Wins

DON'T MISS

The Supreme Court Orders Makers of Gun Parts to Comply with Rules on Ghost Guns

DON'T MISS

George W. Bush for Speaker? A Democratic Lawmaker Thinks It’s Possible

DON'T MISS

Former Navy IT Manager Gets Five Years for Hacking, ID Theft

DON'T MISS

Gunman Kills Two Swedes in Brussels, Prompting Terror Alert and Halt of Belgium-Sweden Soccer Match

DON'T MISS

Zakaria: The Best Response to Hamas Would Be to Keep the Saudi Deal Alive

DON'T MISS

Groundbreaking Human Brain Atlas Offers New Hope for Treating Neurological Disorders

UP NEXT

Zakaria: The Best Response to Hamas Would Be to Keep the Saudi Deal Alive

UP NEXT

Dairy Pushes Tulare to Top Ag County in Nation. Grapes Displace Almonds as Fresno’s Top Crop.

UP NEXT

Kaiser Permanente Reaches a Tentative Deal With Health Care Worker Unions After a Recent Strike

UP NEXT

US Inflation Eased Slightly Last Month as Price Increases Extend Slow Descent

UP NEXT

Social Security Benefits Will Increase by 3.2% in 2024 as Inflation Moderates

UP NEXT

The Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment Is Coming — But It Won’t Be as Big as This Year’s

UP NEXT

Wholesale Inflation in US Rises 2.2% in September, Biggest Year-Over-Year Gain Since April

UP NEXT

The Future of Electric Vehicles Looms Over Negotiations in the US Autoworkers Strike

UP NEXT

US Employers Added 336,000 Jobs in September in a Sign of Economic Resilience

UP NEXT

California’s ‘Stealth Tax Increase’ Set to Hit in January

You May like

Trump Vows to Ban Gaza Refugees, Expand Muslim Travel Ban If He Wins

1 year ago

The Supreme Court Orders Makers of Gun Parts to Comply with Rules on Ghost Guns

1 year ago

George W. Bush for Speaker? A Democratic Lawmaker Thinks It’s Possible

1 year ago

Former Navy IT Manager Gets Five Years for Hacking, ID Theft

1 year ago

Gunman Kills Two Swedes in Brussels, Prompting Terror Alert and Halt of Belgium-Sweden Soccer Match

1 year ago

Zakaria: The Best Response to Hamas Would Be to Keep the Saudi Deal Alive

1 year ago

Groundbreaking Human Brain Atlas Offers New Hope for Treating Neurological Disorders

1 year ago

Newsom Signs Law to Slowly Raise Healthcare Minimum Wage to $25

1 year ago

Former Fresno CC Coach Ed Madec Arrested for Allegedly Threatening to Kill Chancellor

1 year ago

Jim Jordan’s Rapid Rise Cheered by Trump and Far Right. Could It Make Him Speaker?

1 year ago

HOT OFF THE PRESS

23 for ’23: A Year in Photos

1 year ago

1 year ago

Trump Vows to Ban Gaza Refugees, Expand Muslim Travel Ban If He Wins

1 year ago

The Supreme Court Orders Makers of Gun Parts to Comply with Rules on Ghost Guns

Photo of a hacker typing on a laptop

1 year ago

Former Navy IT Manager Gets Five Years for Hacking, ID Theft