Employers aren’t happy with the skills today’s college graduates bring to the workplace. A few states are addressing the problem with effective work-based learning programs.
Commissioner Adrian Garcia has said that his precinct’s pilot program, which paid participants $15 an hour to clean public spaces, was a success and will expand countywide with a $2.1 million budget.
The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009. In the absence of action from Congress and state legislatures, local governments are adding capacity to their programs to support workers.
Overly broad “reform” jeopardizes the public and disadvantages hardworking professionals. There is a better path toward balanced, rational and methodical licensing.
The e-commerce company has struggled throughout the pandemic with building too many warehouses and not having enough workers to staff them. But a 3.8-million-square-foot expansion in upstate New York has hired 1,500 full-time workers.
In 2019, the New York State Industries for the Disabled helped employ 5,293 workers with a disability. Yet, the state ranked 43rd out of the 50 states for residents with a disability who were employed.
With historic funding for badly needed projects arriving at the same time as historic shortages of construction workers, what can states do to open up the employment pipeline?
While the unemployment rates are close to pre-pandemic levels, employers are still struggling to fill positions. Statewide, businesses reported about 30,000 fewer workers than in February 2020.
A recent study found that the state’s investment to connect 238,000 households by 2026 would raise worker wages, help bridge digital divides and boost the state’s labor income by $843 million annually.
The U.S. House passed YouthBuild for the Future act as part of the larger $78 billion Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The bill now moves to the Senate.
The state saw a civilian labor force gain of 14,000 and an employment increase of 19,000 last month. April was the 12th consecutive month of job growth and 10th consecutive month of unemployment decline for the state.
The state has been under total Democratic control for four years, but a tumultuous two years with law enforcement, workforce development and the pandemic has some predicting that Republicans could regain control in November.
Our public education system is too focused on preparing students for four-year colleges. When an auto mechanic can pull down a six-figure salary, it’s clear that career and technical education should be getting a lot more support.
The Texas city’s manufacturing jobs reached 52,000 last fall, its highest level in more than two decades; employment in auto manufacturing more than doubled over the last 20 years.
State and local officials have promised the electric vehicle maker free land, a state-owned training center, a new interchange along I-20 and tax breaks in exchange for a local factory that would create 7,500 jobs.
To combat the continuing labor shortage, many companies are reconsidering hiring requirements and are “downcredentialing” their job openings. Many expect this reclassification to continue beyond the pandemic.
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