Launch of Job Training Initiative
President Trump signed an executive order last week aimed at spurring new investments in job training.
More than 15 companies and associations signed a pledge to educate and train U.S. students and workers during a White House ceremony to launch the initiative.
The companies vowed to expand apprenticeships, increase on-the-job training, and provide skill-development opportunities. They also pledged to collectively hire or train more than 3.8 million people in the next five years.
The White House said it expected the “Pledge to America’s Workers” to lead to more than 500,000 new career opportunities for students and employees.
As part of the executive order, the White House aims to create a National Council for the American Worker, comprising senior administration officials who will develop a nationwide strategy for training employees in industries with high potential. The order also calls for the creation of an advisory board made up of leaders from the private sector, educational institutions, philanthropic groups and state governments.
Spending on education and training in the U.S. is focused almost entirely on people younger than 25 and in school, according to a report released this week by the Council of Economic Advisers. Relatively little is spent during a person’s working life by employers or the government, potentially leaving them without the ideal skill set for modern jobs, the paper said.
The initiative will address job-market changes that have occurred over the past few decades. Nearly one in five working Americans are employed in jobs that didn’t exist in 1980, many of them in technology, the fastest-growing segment.
Many policy initiatives would likely require congressional action.
U.S. business leaders have been sounding the alarm for some time about the need to train tens of millions of workers over the next decade, as automation technology displaces or reinvents their jobs. Dozens of major companies have launched their own efforts.
Source: Wall Street Journal