National Skills Coalition (NSC) and Business Leaders United for Workforce Partnerships (BLU) has convened four workforce panels – Healthcare, Manufacturing, Infrastructure, and Retail/Hospitality – to advise the Biden adminstration on recovery policies.
In reference to the Manufacturing Panel, NSC CEO Andy Van Kleunen told IndustryWeek that “President Biden’s ‘Made in all of America’ initiative will only be as successful as his commitment to making generation-defining workforce investments that are equitably allocated to support every worker in the manufacturing sector, particularly workers of color, immigrants, and workers with a high school diploma or less.”
“In the coming months,” he added, “the Manufacturing Recovery Panel will release a set of recommendations to help drive an inclusive recovery for the manufacturing workforce and industry. We can’t train our way out of this crisis. But meaningful investments in our workforce system must be part of the path forward.”
Different industries have experienced the COVID-19 pandemic in different ways. The goal of the industry recovery panels is to ensure that federal recovery initiatives include investments in job training and support services that workers and businesses need to adapt to the structural shifts within their industries.
“I look forward to joining other industry leaders in conversations with Biden administration officials about the need for robust public investments in training for infrastructure and clean energy to support workers and grow American manufacturing jobs,” said Scott Paul, president of Alliance for American Manufacturing and chair of NSC’s Board of Directors, in a statement to IndustryWeek. “This is about securing a solid foundation for lasting job growth and sustainability for generations to come.”
The Industry Recovery Panel initiative is supported in part by Walmart, JPMorgan Chase, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, and Microsoft.
