New Orleans (July 14, 2008) – Corporate Voices for Working Families, a nonprofit corporate membership organization in Washington, D.C., that aims to improve the lives of working families and the competitiveness of American business, has issued a comprehensive position paper and statement of principles that spotlights workforce readiness challenges and solutions.
Titled Tomorrow’s Workforce: Ready or Not: It’s A Choice the Business Community Must Make Now – the report identifies the challenges facing the business community and highlights actions that can be taken now to help solve a problem that involves not just America’s young people, but one that touches the lives of everyone.
“Businesses throughout the United States are facing a crisis. Young people today – the workforce of tomorrow – are not prepared to succeed in a knowledge-based economy,” Donna Klein, CEO and president of Corporate Voices for Working Families, said. “This crisis is one that threatens our nation’s ability to compete in a rapidly changing and more competitive global economy. And if left unresolved, it is a crisis that will undercut the standard of living and way of life for our children – and theirs. But it is also a problem with solutions, if we can harness the skills, resources and vision of all the stakeholders – parents, business leaders, educators, community leaders, policy makers, and young people themselves.”
Corporate Voices released the research findings and analysis in conjunction with the Workforce Innovations 2008 conference being held in New Orleans July 15 -17. The conference is co-hosted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD). Workforce Innovations promotes collaboration among leaders from workforce development, business, economic development, education, community-based organizations and philanthropy.
“Corporate Voices for Working Families and our 50 partner companies believe that different approaches must be taken now to prepare our nation’s young people – our next generation of workers and citizens – to be successful in school, on the job and throughout life,” Klein said. “To achieve results, we need a comprehensive, coordinated and integrated system of learning and development that provides all young people with the opportunity to develop the skills they need.”
Copies of the Corporate Voices’ workforce readiness position paper, statement of principles and executive summary can be downloaded at www.cvworkingfamilies.org.
About Corporate Voices for Working Families: Corporate Voices for Working Families is the leading national business membership organization representing the private and public sectors on public policy issues involving working families. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, we improve the lives of working families by developing policies that reflect collaboration among the private sector, government and other stakeholders. To create this bipartisan support, we facilitate research in several areas that spotlight the intersecting interests of business, community and families: workforce readiness, family economic stability and flexibility in the workplace. Collectively our 50 partner companies, with annual net revenues of more than $1 trillion, employ more than 4 million individuals throughout all 50 states.
