Leading Employers Commit to Boost Worker Education, Job Training To Expand Economic Opportunity for 24 Million American Frontline Workers

April 24, 2015

Contact:
Bridget DeSimone, 301-280-5735 | bdesimone@burness.com
Jeffrey Harris, 202-736-3848 | jeffrey.harris@aspeninst.org

Leading Employers Commit to Boost Worker Education, Job Training
To Expand Economic Opportunity for 
24 Million American Frontline Workers

White House Summit Venue for UpSkill America Partner Announcements:
New Commitments to Boost Worker Skills;
New Reports to be Released on Challenges US Companies Face to Attract, Train and
Retain Talent, as well as New Employer Resource Guide to Upskilling Employees 

Washington, DC, April 24, 2015 – A White House Summit will convene today to address the critical need expand economic opportunity for low-wage workers and develop a more skilled workforce. At the same time, top U.S. business and workforce leadership in the UpSkill America partnership will announce new commitments to bolster their investment in frontline employee education and training.

Launched in January, UpSkill America is a coalition of business, labor, education, workforce training, and human resource organizations leading a national movement to provide the 24 million American workers stuck in low-skill jobs the opportunity to gain the education and training they need to move into higher-skill roles. The UpSkill America network’s collective membership includes hundreds of employers and labor partnerships representing millions of workers across the country. See full list of UpSkill America members below. 

UpSkill America partners played an integral role in bringing together the diverse group of 150 employers, labor leaders, non-profits, educators and technology innovators at the White House Upskilling Summit today. Together, these organizations are leading the way in providing more workers with stepping stones to advance on a career path and into the middle class.

New upskilling efforts unveiled at the summit include one hundred employers expanding access to apprenticeships and on-the-job training, as well as thirty national and local labor unions and non-profit groups working with employers to expand access to best practice training strategies. The focus of these efforts will center on industries like retail and hospitality and in small businesses that employ millions of low-wage workers. New data and tools for workers and employers were also released, among them:

“Businesses have a vital role to play in expanding the talent pipeline in our country,” said John Colborn, director of the Aspen Institute’s Skills for America’s Future, which is facilitating the work of UpSkill America. “UpSkill America is committed to sharing best practices, providing resources like new data and tools for employers to help enhance their workforce development practices and move the needle on addressing the national workforce skill shortage.”

UpSkill America partners:

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UpSkill America’s coalition of business, education, and workforce training organizations is dedicated to helping more businesses expand our nation’s talent pipeline by: recognizing leading employers that provide expanded opportunities for their workers; promoting the widespread adoption of business practices and policies that increase economic opportunity; and cultivate the education and workforce development efforts that support and advance those initiatives.  UpSkill America’s work is facilitated by the Aspen Institute Skills for America’s Future. For more information, visit www.UpSkillamerica.org

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