As COVID-19 accelerates disruptions impacting the American workforce, the National Governors Association (NGA) issued the findings of a comprehensive two-year project examining ways that governors and other state policymakers can nurture a technologically resilient workforce ready to thrive in an evolving economy.
The State Guide for Preparing the Future Workforce Now presents findings and recommendations from the Future Workforce Now: Reimagining Workforce Policy in the Age of Disruption initiative (Future Workforce Now). The guide is available online and via a first-of-its-kind interactive website where users can explore 150 policy and program examples from more than 40 states; in-depth case studies from Alabama, Arkansas and Washington; and global initiatives that promote lifelong learning and that train and credential an evolving workforce.
The State Guide for Preparing the Future Workforce Now recommends that states:
- Build statewide ecosystems that promote lifelong learning for all workers by orienting leaders toward a shared vision, investing in data and a transparent credential infrastructure, and aligning funding with state workforce goals.Innovate teaching and learning models to close the digital skills gap by engaging employers to develop demand-driven training programs offering flexible learning pathways for all workers.
- Increase investments in the comprehensive supports that enable all workers to succeed in the workforce, including access to financial aid, career advice and information, portable credentials, and flexibility to succeed in the gig economy.
“The State Guide to Preparing the Future Workforce offers a set of policy and program recommendations for promoting lifelong learning, education and training strategies that respond to and anticipate future technological advances, and the supports that are essential for current and future workers,” said Ivan Charner, a senior advisor at FHI 360. “At a time when the country needs new policies and programs to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and to 400 years of systemic racism, this guide offers proven lessons and new ideas that can provide all workers access to — and success in — the workforce.”