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Our country needs a world-class, skilled workforce to lead in global innovation, ensure future economic growth and drive job creation. Unfortunately, the U.S. skills gap is real and growing.

Closing The Skills Gap

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Businesses increasingly have difficulty finding employees with the knowledge and training required to meet their workforce needs. Many high school and college graduates – as well as some adult workers – lack foundational skills needed in the 21st century workplace. These include, for example, analyzing complex texts, adapting to new technologies and problem solving. This misalignment of skills exacerbates unemployment and stifles economic growth.Business Roundtable believes a multifaceted solution involving public and private players is needed to address this skills gap problem. As a start...<ul><li>Employers must send a clear, direct “demand signal” of the foundational attributes employees must demonstrate to succeed in the workplace;</li><li>Industry needs to sort out the large and chaotic world of industry credentials; state workforce boards and educational and training centers must understand job needs in each region and focus on helping students acquire the skills needed to fill those jobs; and</li><li>Human resources practices must improve across industry to identify competencies gained through valid credential programs and relevant experience.</li></ul>

In July of 2018, there were 6.7 million job openings and 6.6 million unemployed people looking for work.

Closing the Skills Gap

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SEE HOW AMERICA'S BUSINESS LEADERS ARE WORKING TO CLOSE THE SKILLS GAP

WORK IN PROGRESS

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<h3>America's Skills Gap and How to Overcome It</h3>As the labor force nears full employment, the U.S. economy faces a tough obstacle — business can't find enough qualified workers to meet rising job openings.

Time to Align

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Businesses are struggling to find employees with the knowledge and skills to meet their workforce needs. In fact, according to a 2016 Business Roundtable Survey, at least 95 percent of CEOs reported that it was difficult to find workers with the skills needed to fill open positions. This widening gap is perhaps the largest issue facing the American workforce—and the future of the U.S economy.

Workforce Development

<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/brt.org/staging-qeOOpdhhbbqqq3/WorkForceWednesdayImage.png"> #WorkforceWednesday is Business Roundtable's blog series highlighting specific actions and initiatives of our CEO member companies to close the workforce skills gap that undermines a strong economic future in the United States.

Workforce Spotlight

Businesses Work to Close the Skills Gap

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Our country needs a world-class, skilled workforce to lead in global innovation, ensure future economic growth and drive job creation. Unfortunately, the U.S. skills gap is real and growing.