NSC CEO Andy Van Kleunen was a guest on Work In Progress, a Working Nation podcast. Van Kleunen discusses investing in people and closing the skills gap in a changed economy.
Van Kleunen says that the challenges of the last 18 months have disproportionately impacted workers of color, workers without a bachelor’s degree or even any kind of post-secondary training, low-wage workers, older workers, and women. Some of these workers and job seekers will need short-term training, others would benefit from a longer-term strategy and collaborative partnerships among various stakeholders.
Van Kleunen says investing in training for workers is a bi-partisan issue. “It resonates with Republican and Democratic and Independent voters. In our recent poll, 89% of U.S. voters want to see workforce training be part of any infrastructure job creation package coming out of Congress this year.”
