Youth Employment

Rich Feller, Ph.D, Colorado State University

August 9, 2018

What do you love to do? It’s a question that drives career planning nationwide. That seemingly harmless probe is the assumption behind interest-only assessments, which have historically dominated career guidance efforts. However, these assessments are failing employers and students. What would happen if you measured that person's aptitude?

Taking the Time to Connect the Community to Career Opportunities

Brett Melvin, Executive Director, Bridging America's Gap

July 12, 2018

Over the past five years or so, workforce data has been sending a strong message: there is a difference between the expectation that employers have of the skills and competencies that a new employee will have on day one and what the employee is actually capable of doing. The only way to ensure skills translate into successful career paths is to provide students and their families with exposure to and awareness of the jobs and career paths available across industries right in their own community.

3 Ways Employers Can Help Empower the Next Generation

June 15, 2018

Due to workplace projections, it is critical that employers partner with educators in order to grow talent, bridge the gap between our current and future STEM workforce, and support students in choosing STEM as a career.

Cheryl Oldham

STEM

Show, Don’t Tell: How Companies are Building the Workforce of the Future

June 5, 2018

On Monday, the U.S. Chamber revealed a new art installation, “Building the Workforce of the Future,” showcasing some of America’s leading employers in workforce development efforts. These employers are: PNC, The Home Depot, IBM, Microsoft, ExxonMobil, the Greater Houston Partnership, Wyoming Machine, and Novelis. The display illustrates the work of these companies, across the four phases of the nation’s talent pipeline, to close the skills gap and cultivate a highly-trained workforce of tomorrow.

Abby Hills

Early Childhood Education

Economic Growth

STEM

Talent Forward 2018

The Talent Forward conference welcomes leaders and change makers in the business and education communities, industry and human resource partners, and other community leaders to discuss the most critical topic in our country today: our workforce.

How One Community College is Making Partnerships with Business Work

Mallory Benz, Central Piedmont Community College

May 15, 2018

Vocational learning has evolved over the years. In the past, it referred to individuals learning particular skills in fields such as welding, plumbing and automotive services. Today’s vocational training looks vastly different. Students are acquiring skills in advanced manufacturing, mechatronics, computer-integrated machining, and other highly technical fields of study. Classrooms have been replaced with employers’ manufacturing headquarters, and students are finding employment before they even graduate college.

Jaimie Francis

Building a Stronger Talent Pool: How the Nashville Chamber Helped Students Get Excited about In-Demand Careers

Ralph Schulz, President and CEO, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce

April 24, 2018

At the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, we believe strongly in investing in education as a way to help support the region’s continued prosperity and engaging community leaders. To encourage young people to think more proactively about their prospective job opportunities– and help area employers better understand and connect with future workers – the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce partners with Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) to host an annual “My Future, My Way” career fair that brings the district’s 7,000 9th grade students together with more than 300 business leaders.

Connecting STEM Education and the Workforce: Preparing for Jobs of the Future

Liz Rowan, Director of Marketing, EVERFI

April 10, 2018

During our discussion about careers at the March 27 event at Hayes Middle School in West Virginia, many students indicated a desire to be a doctor or a veterinarian - careers traditionally popular among middle school-aged students. Loftis’ class, however, knows what it takes to get to these popular career choices. After participating in the STEM Scholars program, students demonstrate a better grasp of the STEM skills required to pursue these careers.

Bridging the Gaps in Manufacturing

Marisa Hemingway, Senior Learning and Development Manager, SEL Inc.

May 3, 2018

A survey done by the Associated General Contractors of America concluded that approximately 62 percent of firms are unable to fill skilled trade positions. The good news is that employers are not sitting on the sidelines. We know that America needs new pathways to opportunity, and employers feel the need to play a bigger role in workforce education. This year it is a goal of the Chamber Foundation to share some of the models we have come across that work, can be repeated, and produce results.

Jaimie Francis

U.S. Chamber Foundation, NAM’s Manufacturing Institute Release New Paper Outlining Employer-Led Opportunities for Workforce Development

March 12, 2018

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the National Association of Manufacturers’ Manufacturing Institute today released a new paper advancing a solution for increased employer leadership and investment in earn and learn pathways, including apprenticeships, internship programs, vocational education, and on-the-job training. The paper, entitled “Quality Pathways: Employer Leadership in Earn and Learn Opportunities,” highlights the importance of employer leadership in developing a growing workforce that meets the needs of a modernizing United States economy.