Trump Signs Executive Order on Job Training -- Update
July 19 2018 - 5:33PM
Dow Jones News
By Vivian Salama and Vanessa Fuhrmans
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump signed an executive order
on Thursday aimed at spurring new investments for training current
and future American workers to help them secure jobs
domestically.
More than 15 companies and associations signed a pledge to
educate and train American students and workers during a White
House ceremony that opened the initiative.
Among them, International Business Machines Corp., FedEx Corp.,
General Motors Co., Microsoft Corp., Walmart Inc. and Lockheed
Martin Corp. are expected to take part, as well as students who
will soon enter the workforce, according to Mr. Trump's daughter
and adviser, Ivanka Trump. As part of their commitment, those
companies will expand apprenticeships, increase on-the-job
training, and provide Americans with opportunities to develop new
skills to secure stable jobs.
The companies collectively pledged to hire or train more than
3.8 million people over the next five years. Walmart alone
committed to hiring one million people, although many of those
positions in retail are part-time or low paid.
"Today, we are taking historic steps to ensure that every
American has the chance to realize their full-time potential," Mr.
Trump said. "These great companies -- and they are great; these are
the greatest in the world -- are affirming their commitment to
train American workers for American jobs, because America's
strength, America's heart, and America's soul is found in our
people."
He stressed the need for stimulus programs like this one to help
inspire college students entering the workforce.
Ms. Trump said that the aim is to spur hiring by various
employers in a range of industries. "That is good for the American
worker and will lead to wage increases and will lead to enhanced
opportunities. A tight labor market is very good," she told
reporters on Wednesday.
The White House said it expected the "Pledge to America's
Workers" to lead to more than 500,000 new career opportunities for
students and workers.
As part of the executive order, the White House is aiming to
create a National Council for the American Worker, comprising
senior administration officials, who will develop a nationwide
strategy for training workers in industries that have a high
workforce potential. The order also calls for the creation of an
advisory board made up of leaders from the private sector,
educational institutions, philanthropic organizations and state
governments.
Spending on education and training in the U.S. is focused almost
entirely on people younger than 25 years old and in school,
according to a report released this week by the Council of Economic
Advisers. Relatively little is spent during a person's working life
by employers or the government, potentially leaving them without
the ideal skill set for modern jobs, the paper said.
The initiative will address the changes that have occurred over
the past few decades to the job market. Nearly one in five working
Americans are employed in jobs that didn't exist in 1980, many of
which are in technology, the fastest-growing segment across all
industries.
Many policy initiatives, including those that make changes to
federal workforce programs, would likely require congressional
action.
U.S. business leaders have been sounding the alarm for some time
about the need to train tens of millions of workers over the next
decade, as automation technology displaces or reinvents their jobs.
Dozens of major companies from Accenture PLC to IBM have launched
their own efforts.
One of the most ambitious efforts is at AT&T Inc., which
aims to retrain nearly half of its 250,000 employees for more
digital-centric jobs by 2020 after determining six years ago that
many of its workers were in positions that probably won't exist in
a decade.
Industry groups have been trying to find ways to ramp up such
programs.
In a 2017 survey by consulting firm Willis Towers Watson, less
than half of the nearly 1,000 companies polled said they were
taking steps to prepare their workforces for a more digital
economy.
Last month, the Business Roundtable, a group of about 200 chief
executives from major U.S. companies, announced its own initiative
to work with local colleges and universities to expand
"best-in-class" workforce-retraining programs into regional
networks.
Write to Vanessa Fuhrmans at vanessa.fuhrmans@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 19, 2018 18:18 ET (22:18 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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