Introduction: As America’s economy climbs back from the deepest recession in more than half a century, it faces a new challenge: Businesses cannot find enough employees with the right knowledge, skills and training to fill critical jobs. This “skills gap” is a major reason the U.S. economy has not reached its full potential predicted before the recession.1 Moreover, the problem likely will persist unless significant policy changes occur.

The skills gap issue will grow more acute as the economy recovers and unemployment falls. The reality is that many workers in the current pool of unemployed are not ready to fill many of today’s high-skill, high-demand manufacturing and service jobs. As labor force participation continues to decline due to demographic shifts, the search for highly skilled employees will become more desperate. By 2012, business organizations already were spending $164.2 billion to train their employees.2 In 2013, training budgets jumped by another 15 percent.3 Yet these efforts alone will not erase the skills deficit. To build the workforce needed for 21st century jobs, more must be one now to strengthen the education and training pipeline serving youth and working adults.

A new vision is needed — along with concerted action — to close the skills gap, enhance education and training opportunities for America’s workers, and return our economy to its full promise. This paper outlines such a vision and presents a distinct set of activities that Business Roundtable is undertaking to address this issue.