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President Obama recently traveled to the Twin Cities to outline his opportunity agenda for working families. National Skills Coalition members joined the President for each leg of the trip. The trip included a town hall meeting, visit to a local job training program, and speech at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis.
At the town hall, NSC Skills Summit participant Larry Raddatz asked the President (at the 23:45 mark) about his plans for preparing workers for middle-skill careers in the STEM field, and in doing so, brought greater attention to the importance of equipping workers with the right skills for today’s labor market.
Business Leaders United executive committee member Erick Ajax also attended the town hall meeting and, through his tireless promotion of the M-Powered sector partnership in his region, helped to facilitate the President’s visit to HIRED, a community-based job training organization. The President, accompanied by Senator Al Franken and Department of Labor Secretary Tom Perez, saw firsthand how industry focused regional partnerships among employers, educators and workforce experts drive the development of training pathways to good jobs. While at HIRED, the President jokingly quizzed students taking a class on customer service, but was earnest in his affirmations of the role training plays in helping workers secure a strong foothold in the economy.
National Skills Coalition is heartened by President Obama’s recent policy actions to increase investments in job-driven training, and is eager to continue working with the Administration and other policymakers to ensure this public support continues.
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