Economic and Opportunity Imperative: Closing the Education and Skills Gap

This post was contributed by Stephen M. Wing, President of Corporate Voices for Working Families.

Sparking an economic revival and creating new jobs has no higher national priority. Yet as a national business membership organization representing companies who employ millions of Americans, Corporate Voices for Working Families grapples with a related and urgent imperative: A widespread “skills gap,” which leaves many employers struggling to fill job openings even as millions of Americans search for work. We regard this skills gap as one of the most pressing issues facing business competitiveness and the economic security of working families today.

In Across the Great Divide, a report Corporate Voices published this year in partnership with Civic Enterprises and others, 53 percent of business leaders surveyed said their companies face a “very or fairly major” challenge recruiting employees with the skills, education and training their business needs. Those at smaller companies, who…