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Wanted: Workers with skills
By Thomas E. PEREZ
As the secretary of labor, I have a unique opportunity to meet with employers around the country of all sizes and from an array of industries. So many of them tell me the same thing: they’re ready to grow their businesses and to hire more people.
But here’s the rub: too often, they can’t find workers who have the skills they need.
Meanwhile, although businesses have added 9.9 million jobs since February 2010, a lot of people are still hurting, unable to access the opportunities that will allow them to share in our national recovery. About a third of those who remain unemployed have been unemployed for six months or more.
So we have ready-to-work people looking for work. And we have ready-to-fill jobs that employers can’t fill. If we want to continue our economic recovery, grow our middle class and ensure a prosperous future, we’ve got to match them up.
Opportunity agenda
That’s at the heart of President Obama’s opportunity agenda. And that’s why he recently signed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) — a bipartisan bill that passed with little fanfare, but represents the first major reform of the nation’s workforce system since 1998. The reforms in the new law will make the nation’s workforce system, which serves more than 20 million people a year, better able to provide people with the skills they need to access ladders of opportunity.
But that’s not all. Vice President Joe Biden recently released a report calling for stronger partnerships with employers; better access to information for job-seekers; and more effective training strategies.
All of these efforts are based on the principle of job-driven training. We’re doing away with what I call “train and pray,” — training people to be widget makers and praying that there’s a company hiring widget makers. We need to provide people with the skills needed for jobs that actually exist.
So what exactly does “job-driven training” look like? Here are some examples happening right here in Ohio. The Electrical Trades Center in Columbus, the Piping Industry Training Center in Northwood, Independent Electrical Contractors in Cincinnati and Northeast Ohio Carpenters JATC have all developed extensive training curriculums for apprentices in their fields, training them in electrical, plumbing, welding and building trades skills. At Whirlpool in Marion, seasoned journeymen provide on-the-job training for skills in advanced manufacturing. So far these programs have trained nearly 7,000 workers.
And perhaps the most important ingredient to making this program successful? The technical colleges work closely with employers to provide students with industry recognized credentials and certification, and they can earn advanced credit at local 2- and 4-year colleges. This is the case with the Ohio State Apprenticeship Council which is partnering with community colleges to provide a pathway to a technical associate degree.
Training grants
Additionally, in November 2013, Ohio received a total of $7.14 million in Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training grant funding to support skills-training capacity building at community colleges and other public institutions across the state. Among the programs funded were the Greater Cincinnati Manufacturing Careers Accelerator, which works with Cincinnati State Technical and Community College to deliver accelerated, high-quality education and training programs that directly address the needs of area manufacturers. Additionally, Columbus State Community College received nearly $1.4 million as part of a consortia grant focused on logistics and supply-chain management.
On Labor Day, we honor the contributions that hard-working men and women make every day to our nation’s strength and vitality. And we recommit ourselves to helping more people enjoy the dignity of work, helping them acquire the skills and access the opportunities to reach the American Dream.
Thomas E. Perez is U.S. secretary of labor.