Companies Sign Pledge in Support of Presidential Workforce Training Initiative

Jobs, Skills and Training

Eleven businesses, including a number of member companies, committed to training workers with sought-after job skills in five years as President Trump signed an executive order establishing the National Council for the American Worker.

FedEx, General Motors, Home Depot, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Raytheon, UPS, and Walmart pledged their support.

The Council is directed to develop recommendations for the President on “policy and strategy related to the American workforce, and perform such other duties as the President may from time to time prescribe."

The President’s Council of Economic Advisors released a report that found that current efforts are not up to the task.  “The concentration of investment," it warns, "in skill development and education among workers with a bachelor’s degree and those under age 25 is a strong indication that America’s reskilling effort is not optimized to address future challenges."

Looking ahead: The executive order and council face a daunting challenge in moving the needle to address the skills challenges employers are increasingly facing.  What remains clear is that large employers will continue to lead in meeting these challenges.