White House, industry expand programs to educate, train workers

He urged lawmakers to pass legislation that will help expand training programs for workers in the manufacturing sector. 

Obama singled out Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.)m who was on hand for the speech, to push the legislation and ensure the programs receive the needed funding. 

“We’ve got a lot of programs out there,” Obama said. “If a program does not work in training people for the jobs of the future and getting them a job, we should eliminate that program.  If a program is working, we should put more money into that program,” he said.

“So we’ve got to be ruthless in evaluating what works and what doesn’t in order for folks to actually obtain a job and industry to get the workers they need.”

Moran told The Hill that the plan will focus on “generating the kinds of jobs that have the greatest promise for reversing current unemployment trends.”

The community college system can be used to teach “skill sets necessary for successful careers in automotive mechanics, plumbing and electrical installation,” he said. 

“These are jobs that can’t be sent oversees, which can pay six figures and for which there is a severe shortage highly skilled workers,” he said.

The White House has industry groups leading the charge to ensure the manufacturing sector, which has an aging workforce — more than 2.7 million workers are at least 55 years and older — and will need replacement workers as older employees choose to retire in 10 to 15 years.

The Alliance for American Manufacturing “stands by ready to tackle this challenge with the president, leaders in Congress and others,” the group said in a statement. 

“It’s incumbent on all of us to break down the walls that students, parents, teachers and counselors may have erected to considering careers in manufacturing,” the statement said. “To do that, we need to do a better job of outreach and education, and we need the right set of policies to boost manufacturing in America so that we will continue to create opportunities for workers.”

The effort comes amid troubling signs for the economy that represent a huge problem for Obama ahead of his 2012 reelection bid. The unemployment rate ticked up last month as the economy added only 54,000 jobs, and other figures suggest a slowing economy. 

“Obviously we’re slowly recovering from a very painful recession,” Obama said. 

“Because the irony is even though a lot of folks are looking for work, there are a lot of companies that are actually also looking for skilled workers,” he said. “There’s a mismatch that we can close. And this partnership is a great way to do it.”


Manufacturing growth slowed to the slowest pace in nearly two years, according to the latest figures, but the sector, which has fueled the economic recovery, was dragged down by a spike in energy prices through the first several months of the year. 

The expansion plan “is about leveraging the knowledge of the current workforce to ensure a strong industrial base for years to come,” said Mark Tomlinson, executive director and chief executive of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). 

“Professionals who are passionate about making things can share their enthusiasm with the next generation,” he said. “That’s how to engage them – get the kids hooked on the thrill of seeing an idea become a reality.”

The worker training program is aimed at providing 500,000 community college students with industry-recognized credentials that will help them obtain jobs in the manufacturing sector. The administration is working with the Aspen Institute and the Manufacturing Institute, the affiliated nonprofit of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). 

“Certifications based on industry needs is a win-win for the worker and the employer,” Tomlinson said. “With credentials from the Skills Certification System, a worker can be confident that she has the skills in demand, and the employer will have verification that the potential employee has the skills he claims.”

Obama said lawmakers and the administration will have to decide, based on the nation’s fiscal struggles, what programs to fund as Vice President Joe Biden talks with congressional leaders about spending levels. The U.S. faces default on Aug. 2 if lawmakers don’t raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. 

We’ve been in a tough fight over the last two and a half years to get past a crippling recession, but also to deal with the problems that happened before this recession — the fact that manufacturing had weakened, the middle class was treading water,” Obama said. 

“I don’t think the answer is for us to turn back. I think the answer is to stand up for what this country is capable of achieving, and to place our bets on entrepreneurs and workers and to get behind some of the great work that’s being done here at NOVA and in schools all across the country.”