Next year, the Corporation for a Skilled Workforce (CSW) will be celebrating its 25th anniversary. Throughout our history, we have combined research and action to build a stronger, more resilient workforce. We have consistently been at the center of big conversations about the kinds of policies and programs that can support the growth of skills and credentials, good jobs, and sustainable communities. Given the growing economic divide in the United States and the shrinking middle class, these conversations are as relevant today as they were twenty five years ago.
As CSW’s most recent contribution to this vital conversation, I am pleased to announce the release of a new edited volume, “Transforming U.S. Workforce Development Policies for the 21st Century” by the Upjohn Institute Press, commissioned and edited by the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Kansas City in partnership with the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. CSW’s co-founder and Chairman of the Board, Larry Good, along with CSW Senior Policy Fellow, Ed Strong, have authored the first chapter. They paint, in broad strokes, a canvas of the disruptive forces occurring in labor markets today and the corresponding need to reimagine workforce policies. They provide examples of three major dimensions of workforce policy that need to be reimagined, including lifelong learning, career navigation, and employment/re-employment. They also offer ideas for re-thinking metrics, funding models, governance, and service delivery in ways that would better align workforce investments with the needs of an economy in constant change.
Larry’s and Ed’s contributions to this new book are consistent with CSW’s mission of reimagining work and learning as a way of increasing prosperity and achieving economic mobility for individuals and families. Their ideas, as well as those of other book contributors, including CSW board member Christopher King, extends CSW’s commitment to strengthening America’s middle class and advancing public- and private-sector policies, partnerships, and practices in service of that. I encourage you to read the entire book and to join CSW as we continue to partner with many of the authors and others to identify new models, put them into practice, and scale what works. We hope this book will stimulate conversations and actions around the country, as we work together to achieve greater economic opportunity and prosperity for everyone.
The Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Kansas City collaborated with Rutgers University’s John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development to create this important resource. To learn more or download a free copy, visit www.kansascityfed.org/transformworkforce.
To view a webinar on the subject, visit www.stlouisfed.org/connectingcommunities/
Jeannine LaPrad
President and CEO
Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
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