TechVision21 participates in Close IT Summit
- U.S. unemployment fell to 5.9% last month; however, only 44.2% of Americans over the age of 18 have a job and work at least 30 hours a week.
- In 2009, in the U.S., more business deaths occurred than business births; that was the first time those lines have crossed since tracking began.
- People can’t find jobs and employers can’t find people to fill jobs.
Just what is the skills gap and how do we close it?
Jamai Blivin, Founder & CEO, Innovate+Educate, gathered together a diverse group of stakeholders from industry, education, workforce, government, foundations and social impact organizations actively engaged in creating new pathways from education to employment for lively discussions led by thought leaders from many different sectors.
This year’s Close It Summit is focusing on four key issues critical to jobs and employability in the U.S. — youth employment, skills & credentials in high demand fields, increasing access and opportunity to curriculum and training (Skill Up) and the critical importance of employability (soft) skills.
Byron Auguste, Deputy Director, The White House National Economic Council reiterated the need to put more Americans back to work in jobs with rising wages and income mobility. To achieve this we must close the gap between what education imparts and what employers need.
Young people, transitioning veterans and the long term unemployed face serious challenges. Peter Cappelli, The Wharton School & Author “Why Good People Can’t Get Jobs” stated that employers are looking for people who can hit the ground running– recent graduates with internships and job experience get the jobs.
Disruptive ideas, deeper learning, collaboration, informed student choice… It is time to take action–action that puts people into the jobs they need, jobs that can support a family. The Close It Summit is sparking the conversation and collaboration necessary to call stakeholders to action.
TechVision21 believes that STEM is an essential component in creating jobs and solving quality of life issues. That is why we offer a wide array of services in the STEM arena –from strategy development and execution to policy and program management and workforce analysis. We also help clients identify and pursue federal funding. Developing an on-going workforce pipeline highly educated in science, technology, engineering and math is essential.
As Jamai noted “STEM is Jobs and Jobs is STEM”.