Building America’s “Tomorrow Ready” Workforce

From AI and automation to international competition, innovation and rapid change are shaping the future of work in America and across the globe. These new realities present both great opportunities and challenges for the U.S. workforce. Now more than ever, investments in U.S. education and workforce development are critical to ensuring hardworking Americans succeed. Both the public and private sectors have a role to play, and Business Roundtable CEOs are committed to doing our part.

As leaders of America’s largest companies in every sector of the economy, Business Roundtable CEOs employ more than 15 million people across all 50 states and are committed to doing what it takes to cultivate a U.S. workforce that is “tomorrow ready.” That means equipping more young Americans and working adults with the education, skills and training needed for the jobs of today and tomorrow.

By providing work-based learning opportunities and standing up partnerships between their companies and educational institutions in the local communities where they operate, CEOs demonstrate their commitment to a “tomorrow ready” workforce. And through their national advocacy for higher education and workforce policies, including through modernization of the Higher Education Act, these business leaders are helping expand pathways to gainful, sustained employment for millions of Americans. 

Higher Education

Building a “tomorrow ready” workforce requires modernizing federal policies to strengthen education and training pipelines so America’s youth and working adults can secure fulfilling jobs and sustainable career paths.
Workforce Development

Business Roundtable members are developing a wide variety of programs, partnerships and tools – from apprenticeships and internships to on-the-job training – to address the challenges they face in recruiting and training a skilled workforce.
Pre-K-12 Education

To ensure that America’s workforce is prepared for the jobs of the future, business leaders are investing in today’s students and promoting high-quality education for everyone from the first day of kindergarten to the final day of senior year. 

Over 80 Business Roundtable member companies – and counting – are participating in a new multi-year targeted effort to reform companies’ hiring and talent management practices to emphasize the value of skills, rather than just credentials or degrees, and to improve equity, diversity and workplace culture. The new initiative will support efforts to address inequity in employment practices, including how people are hired and how they advance; and it will work toward eliminating unintentional bias that may prove to be a barrier to hiring and advancement.

PLACING A GREATER EMPHASIS ON SKILLS IN HIRING AND ADVANCEMENT, IMPROVING EQUITY AND DIVERSITY IN EMPLOYMENT

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