Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

2 days ago

‘Freedom Week’: California Gun Owners Rush to Buy Ammo After Court Ruling

2 days ago

Wall Street Selloff Sparked by Trump Tariffs, Amazon Results, Weak Payrolls

2 days ago

US Construction Spending Extends Decline in June

2 days ago

Global Shares in Red After US Jobs Data, Trump’s Tariff Salvo

2 days ago

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

3 days ago

US Senate Committee Backs $1 Billion for Ukraine in Pentagon Spending Bill

3 days ago

Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal Extended for 90 Days

3 days ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

4 days ago
July Jobs Report Shows Need for Strategic Workforce Training
Inside-Sources
By InsideSources.com
Published 7 years ago on
August 5, 2018

Share

The latest Department of Labor jobs report released Friday for the month of July once again has great news for workers, but bad news for employers: America has more open jobs (approximately 6.7 million) than it has unemployed workers to fill them (6.3 million).
This type of labor market can make the business community nervous, but employers do have options, including doing their part to grow the American workforce.

Portrait of Cindy Cisneros
Opinion
Cindy Cisneros
I am not talking about workforce growth through birth rates or immigration policies; I am talking about increasing the American workforce through the type of skills training that can bring the long-term unemployed population back into the labor market. Because America is not actually short on workers — we are short on skilled workers and those who are actively looking for work. If employers encourage and welcome some key groups back into the “actively looking” category, they will once again have a labor market that is on their side.

Americans Need Skills to Return to Workforce

Americans who have dropped out of the workforce — for reasons that range from job loss to child rearing to military service — can face discrimination. They may be demoralized, and they may lack the specific skills that employers are looking for. Those who have recently entered the workforce (new high school or college graduates) can experience similar barriers — a lack of skills, networks and confidence. All of these obstacles can be overcome through strategic, relevant and continuing workforce training.
Workers who lost their jobs during the recession and have given up trying to find a job can be — in the context of meaningful training and an unbalanced job market — not an economic liability, but an important untapped resource. The same is true of veterans, older workers and women or other caregivers who are re-entering the workforce after time away.
There is encouraging evidence that the business community, and leaders in government, have already begun to engage in this task of growing the workforce through more intentional skills training. In July, a group of employers (including FedEx, General Motors, Home Depot, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Walmart) gathered at the White House to sign a pledge to train almost 4 million workers by expanding apprenticeship programs, increasing on-the-job training, and educating both students and workers throughout their careers.

President Trump Backs Workforce Training

On that day, President Trump signed an executive order establishing the National Council for the American Worker — a group of Cabinet members and senior White House officials who are now developing a strategy for skills training. The president’s order also created a Workforce Policy Advisory Board designed to bring together governors with business leaders and educators around the issue of worker training.
It is encouraging to see these collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors. On the employer side, apprenticeship and return-to-work programs are beginning to look like a growing trend. Aon has demonstrated that apprenticeship programs are not just for blue-collar workers, and has shared their own template with a group of other major employers in the Chicago area as part of a larger “Chicago Apprentice Network.” Goldman Sachs is among a handful of companies offering opportunities specifically to workers who have left the workforce for two or more years and are ready to return but need an on-ramp of skills development.

High School and Employers Team Up

In the education sector, there is interesting potential in high school programs that partner with local employers to offer on-the-job-training, for high school credit, to students. Work-based learning opportunities are seen as a key to success by ensuring readiness for this young adult population. “Working colleges,” where students are required to work as part of the curriculum, could also experience an expansion across the country to help meet current labor market needs.
Strategic workforce training is the rare solution that receives enthusiastic support from all sectors and both major political parties. This creates an opportunity ripe for innovation and bold action. Employers who are anxious about the latest labor report should not worry; they should reach out, welcome back, and train forward.
About the Author
Cindy Cisneros is the vice president of education programs at the Committee for Economic Development. She wrote this for InsideSources.com.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

This Test Can See a Heart Attack in Your Future

DON'T MISS

‘South Park’ Skewers a New Kind of Sanctimony and Trump

DON'T MISS

India Will Buy Russian Oil Despite Trump’s Threats, Officials Say

DON'T MISS

The US Said It Had No Choice but to Deport Them to a Third Country. Then It Sent Them Home

DON'T MISS

Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara

DON'T MISS

Fresno’s Dog Daze Fest Returns With The Chainsmokers Headlining

DON'T MISS

Willow the Streetwise Poodle Mix Gets a Second Chance

DON'T MISS

Newsom Wants Voters to Weigh In on New Congressional Districts in November

DON'T MISS

Kia America Recalls 201,149 US Telluride Vehicles

DON'T MISS

US Reviewing Visa Denial for Venezuelan Little League Players, State Department Says

UP NEXT

Wall Street Selloff Sparked by Trump Tariffs, Amazon Results, Weak Payrolls

UP NEXT

Global Shares in Red After US Jobs Data, Trump’s Tariff Salvo

UP NEXT

Fresno’s $100M Warehouse Project Means Big Things for City: Dyer

UP NEXT

Wall Street Jumps as Microsoft Enters $4 Trillion Club After Results

UP NEXT

Fed Likely to Hold Rates Steady Despite Trump’s Push for Big Cuts

UP NEXT

What’s Behind California’s Frozen Housing Market?

UP NEXT

Oil Prices Rise on Trade War Relief, US Pressure on Russia

UP NEXT

US Consumer Confidence Rises Modestly in July

UP NEXT

Trump Eyes Aug 1 Trade Deals as EU, China Talks Continue, US Commerce Chief Says

UP NEXT

Gold Price to Stay Above $3,000/Oz as Flight to Safety Endures

The US Said It Had No Choice but to Deport Them to a Third Country. Then It Sent Them Home

21 hours ago

Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara

22 hours ago

Fresno’s Dog Daze Fest Returns With The Chainsmokers Headlining

23 hours ago

Willow the Streetwise Poodle Mix Gets a Second Chance

23 hours ago

Newsom Wants Voters to Weigh In on New Congressional Districts in November

24 hours ago

Kia America Recalls 201,149 US Telluride Vehicles

1 day ago

US Reviewing Visa Denial for Venezuelan Little League Players, State Department Says

1 day ago

Hamas Says It Won’t Disarm Unless Independent Palestinian State Established

1 day ago

Gifford Fire Grows to 23,588 Acres in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

1 day ago

Fresno Donates Firefighting Gear to Sister City Guadalajara

1 day ago

This Test Can See a Heart Attack in Your Future

A long list of Lynda Hollander’s paternal relatives had heart disease, and several had undergone major surgeries. So when she hit her mid-50...

53 minutes ago

53 minutes ago

This Test Can See a Heart Attack in Your Future

53 minutes ago

‘South Park’ Skewers a New Kind of Sanctimony and Trump

A view shows oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia June 4, 2023. (Reuters File)
20 hours ago

India Will Buy Russian Oil Despite Trump’s Threats, Officials Say

A Lao man deported from the U.S. holds up his non-national ID card - a document that defines his legal status in the country he left behind decades ago, and to which he has now returned, in Vientiane, Laos, July 31, 2025. REUTERS/Phoonsab Thevongsa
21 hours ago

The US Said It Had No Choice but to Deport Them to a Third Country. Then It Sent Them Home

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on his way to New Jersey from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., August 1, 2025. (Reuters File)
22 hours ago

Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara

23 hours ago

Fresno’s Dog Daze Fest Returns With The Chainsmokers Headlining

After surviving more than six months alone on the streets, a 15-pound poodle mix named Willow is now safe and learning to trust humans again. (Mell's Mutts)
23 hours ago

Willow the Streetwise Poodle Mix Gets a Second Chance

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks to the press after a hearing on the use of National Guard troops amid federal immigration sweeps, at the California State Supreme Court in San Francisco, California, U.S., June 12, 2025. (Reuters FIle)
24 hours ago

Newsom Wants Voters to Weigh In on New Congressional Districts in November

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend