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The Aspen Strategy Group hosted a discussion on Domestic and International (Dis)Order: A Strategic Response, the latest edition of the Aspen Strategy Group’s series of annual publications that address the most pressing foreign policy challenges facing the United States. This volume reflects the discussions that occurred during the 2020 Aspen Strategy Group Summer Workshop, a resolutely nonpartisan meeting of experts from the fields of government, academia, journalism, and business. Markle CEO and President Zoë Baird contributed the chapter below to this book. Panelists include: Zoë Baird, Nicholas Burns, Diana Farrell, Naima Green-Riley, Anja Manuel, Joseph Nye, and Tom Pritzker and Torrey Taussig. Equitable Economic Recovery Is a National Security Imperative by Zoë Baird A strong and inclusive economy is essential for American national security and global leadership. As the nation seeks to return from a historic economic crisis, the national security community should support an equitable recovery that helps every worker adapt to the seismic shifts underway in our economy. Broadly shared economic prosperity is a bedrock of America’s economic and political strength—both domestically and in the international arena. A strong and equitable recovery from the economic crisis created by COVID-19 would be a powerful testament to the resilience of the American system and its ability to create prosperity at a time of seismic change and persistent global crisis. Such a recovery could attack the profound economic inequities that have developed over the past several decades. Without bold action to help all workers access good jobs as the economy returns, the United States risks undermining the legitimacy of its institutions and its international standing. The outcome will be a key determinant of America’s national security for years to come. An equitable recovery requires a national commitment to help all workers obtain good jobs—particularly the two- thirds of adults without a bachelor’s degree and people of color who have been most affected by the crisis and were denied opportunity before it. As the nation engages in a historic debate about how to accelerate economic recovery, ambitious public investment is necessary to put Americans back to work with dignity and opportunity. We need an intentional effort to make sure that the jobs that come back are good jobs with decent wages, benefits, and mobility and to empower workers to access these opportunities in a profoundly changed labor market. To achieve these goals, American policy makers need to establish job growth strategies that address urgent public needs through major programs in green energy, infrastructure, and health. Alongside these job growth strategies, we need to recognize and develop the talents of workers by creating an adult learning system that meets workers’ needs and develops skills for the digital economy. The national security community must lend its support to this cause. And as it does so, it can bring home the lessons from the advances made in these areas in other countries, particularly our European allies, and consider this a realm of international cooperation and international engagement. Read the Full Chapter Here Read the Book Here
An Opportunity Account to Help All Workers Identify and Pay For Effective Training
Investing in High Quality Career Coaching
Panelists: Zoë Baird, CEO and President, Markle Foundation Raphael Bostic, President, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Liz Hilton Segel, Managing Partner, North America McKinsey & Company Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League Rework America Alliance: Empowering Workers to Recover Stronger Please join us for a virtual event hosted by the Rework America Alliance, a Markle Initiative as we share new insights into the impact of the pandemic on our workforce and the disproportionate effect this crisis is having on people of color and those without a formal post-secondary education. We will discuss - for the first time - how we are working together to meet the urgent needs of millions of workers who are facing an uncertain future in the current economic crisis. This event will feature a conversation with Zoë Baird, CEO and President of the Markle Foundation, Raphael Bostic, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Liz Hilton Segel, Managing Partner, North America, McKinsey & Company and Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League. We will speak to why we have brought together a unique set of diverse organizations to form the Rework America Alliance and how our collaboration will work to create systemic change to help unemployed and low wage workers emerge from this crisis stronger.
Incentivizing Employers to Hire and Train for Quality Jobs
Investing in Workers to Drive a Stronger Economic Recovery for All
The Rework America Alliance is an unprecedented nationwide collaboration to enable unemployed and low wage workers to emerge from this crisis stronger. The Alliance aims to help millions of workers, regardless of formal education, move into good jobs in the digital economy by accelerating the development of an effective system of worker training aligned to jobs that employers will need to fill. The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented health and economic crisis, impacting tens of millions of people and devastating families across our country. This crisis is affecting some much more deeply than others -- in particular, people of color, women, those working low-wage jobs and those without a bachelor’s degree -- as the outcome of long standing racial, ethnic, gender and class bias. Against an uncertain future, we must immediately ensure that unemployed workers have government financial support for food, housing, and other vital needs -- but we must do more. We must also act to address the longer-term challenges from our changing economy and create opportunity for workers as the economy recovers, and as even more of the good, in-demand jobs will require new digital skills. The Alliance will focus on enabling unemployed and low wage workers to move to better jobs in this digital economy by providing a wholesale backbone for all types of organizations supporting workers. The Alliance will create products and services that enable these organizations to understand the good jobs that will be most in-demand and connect adults to effective rapid and affordable training and career coaching to prepare them for these jobs. We will work with employers to hire and advance workers who may not have the degrees or experience that would traditionally be required, and to enable the creation of more good jobs. Together, the Rework America Alliance aims to achieve impact at the scale and speed this crisis requires to help workers transition to good in-demand jobs in the digital economy. The Alliance is helping worker-facing organizations connect displaced workers to good jobs and employers to build a more diverse workforce by providing access to career guidance and talent management resources. Read about the formation of the Alliance in the Open Letter from Markle CEO and President Zoë Baird. You can also learn more about our progress including local partnerships, and new resources developed by the Rework America Alliance. In June 2021, the Rework America Alliance, a Markle initiative, studied the job histories of 29 million people across more than 800 occupations to look at how to realize the potential of the more than 5.8M workers from low-wage roles currently unemployed and without a college degree. From this, the Alliance has identified actionable steps that can be taken to help these workers to return to work in better roles. These findings are detailed in “Unlocking Experience-Based Job Progressions for Millions of Workers” authored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Markle, McKinsey & Company, and the National Urban League with input from many of our partners in the Rework America Alliance. Two new tools have also been developed so we can take action based on these insights: A new Job Progressions tool developed by McKinsey & Company to help career coaches use historical job progression data to connect job seekers to good jobs, aligned with their experience. A new Rework Community Insights Monitor from The Center for Workforce and Economic Opportunity at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta to provide a metro-level view for policymakers and workforce development leaders. Get Resources The Alliance is formed out of a deep commitment by a unique group of organizations including: Working with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, civil rights organizations, and key experts, we will identify select training programs that are effective at preparing people for good, in-demand jobs, and include a mix of local and national options, beginning with programs from initial participating organizations. And supported by the work of Rework America Business Network members and Skillful All partners will contribute to this work in multiple ways by applying their expertise, experience and resources to the Rework America Alliance. Fact Sheet Sign up to get news and updates about The Rework America Alliance Subscribe
Moderator: Zoë Baird, CEO & President, Markle Foundation Panelists: Chike Aguh, DigitalUS Coalition & Senior Principal, Future of Work Lead at McChrystalGroup Brian Napack, President & CEO, Wiley Angela Siefert, CEO of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance Andy Trainor, VP of US Learning, Walmart Our Essential Service: Driving a National Digital Skills Agenda to Ensure Access & Equity in an A.D. Workforce As we enter a post-pandemic initial recovery, the national unemployment rate is over 14% and the return of stable jobs remains uncertain. Digital skills, already viewed as important to worker success in the age of automation prior to COVID, are now absolutely essential for all Americans, providing access, unlocking opportunity, and creating paths to career mobility. The digital fault lines existed prior to the pandemic, but widened this spring as work, schools, recreation, social and civil engagement all rapidly became available exclusively online. A diverse set of stakeholders including employers, large and small, national organizations, state and local governments have all recognized the gravity of the topic, and are investing in the infrastructure to support a learner and worker ecosystem where digital equity, access, and resilience for all Americans is the new standard, not the exception. Digital skills are fundamental in enabling workers and the economy to recover faster, better, stronger—and more equitably. Digital US, a national coalition focused on equipping all U.S. workers with essential digital skills by 2030, released a report last week “Building a Digitally Resilient Workforce: Creating On-Ramps to Opportunity” that lays out key strategies to enable the digital fluency of individuals and companies at scale.
Stimulus for American Opportunity: Empowering Workers with Training for the Digital Economy The economic crisis caused by COVID-19 is intensifying the inequality that has plagued our economy for years. Tens of millions have lost their jobs or wages, and the people hardest hit are people of color and people in low wage jobs or with low levels of formal education. This crisis will mark an historic turn from the industrial to the digital economy where education and training will be necessary for many good jobs, threatening to leave behind those without the resources and support to access these opportunities. While degree programs are enormously important, they have not worked for all. Workers also need the choice of accessible, rapid, and affordable training that helps them to obtain better jobs with higher wages throughout their careers. The federal response has rightfully prioritized stabilizing incomes. Yet workers with a high school diploma or less lost 5.6 million jobs in the Great Recession out of 7.2 million total jobs erased. After the recession, those individuals recovered only 80,000 of those jobs lost between 2010 and 2016. To ensure that the current return to economic activity creates equal dignity for all workers, America needs major investments in training to create a system of adult learning for the digital economy. Without investments that give workers market power, millions are at risk of falling permanently behind. A bold federal commitment should address three goals. Identify training that leads to good jobs and help people pay for it. Many workers want to pursue additional training but cannot afford to do so and are unsure of which programs will help them achieve better paying jobs and careers. We know that certain skills will be necessary for long term success, and data exists to identify which programs have the strongest track record of improving participants earning prospects. Yet workers are not given the funding or guidance to pursue these programs. Create a new Opportunity Account—a new federal investment in worker training tied to jobs and wages. Workers need financial support to pay for their training. Rather than limiting funding based on the length of a program or focusing largely on in-person programs as we do now, federal and state policy makers should leverage existing wage data and incorporate employer and worker input to determine which training will lead to economic gains. Funding should be available to all unemployed and low-wage workers, and more generous funding should be available to pursue programs with the greatest impact on wages. To help everyone participate, funding should help pay for supportive services. Expand online and employer-provided training. While workers have many choices for training, there is a significant shortage of effective training options that meet the needs of workers in the current moment. Scale effective online training. Social distancing is increasing the appetite for online training options, yet many workers can’t find effective programs meet their career goals. Federal grants should expand the most effective online programs, create new programs to fill gaps, help effective in-person programs transition online, and encourage collaboration to improve outcomes in online education. Match employer investments in training and promote inclusive talent practices. Employer provided training preserves the connection between employer and employee and lets people maintain income while building skills. Yet the crisis threatens to reduce employers’ commitment to training. Federal funding should be available for employers and union programs to cover some of the costs of training that leads to good-paying jobs. Funding should also help employers adopt more inclusive talent practices that reduce bias in hiring and open opportunities for more workers. Empower people with well-informed coaches. Expanded funding for education and training is not enough. People need advice to identify careers that will help them meet their goals and choose training programs that are right for them. Hire and train more coaches: Increase federal funding to hire and train more career counselors in workforce centers, community colleges, community-based organizations, unions, and other trusted organizations that people turn to for guidance during times of crisis. Support state data infrastructure: Federal funding should accelerate efforts to identify the good jobs that are growing in each community and what is required to be successful in these jobs. This paper discusses opportunities for federal policymakers to build a system of adult learning that ensures that the return to economic activity better positions American workers for success—particularly those most profoundly impacted by the pandemic. All comments are welcome.
At Markle we are deeply saddened and angered by the brutal killing of George Floyd, and by the many other atrocious acts of violence Black people have endured as a result of systemic and institutional racism and discrimination. We stand with others to condemn racism, discrimination and injustice. We all must listen and lay bare the history of abuse Black people have encountered, and empower all voices opposing racism. As an organization, we pledge to do more to support all people of color that are hurt in so many ways by racial discrimination and institutional barriers. We must do everything we can to fix the broken systems which have led to decades of inequality and racism in every realm, to help address the impact this has had on our neighborhoods and our country. We will expand our efforts, consistent with the enormity of the need for change, and work towards a better future with equal dignity for all.
Stimulus for American Opportunity, April 2020 Discussion Draft: Ideas for Rapid Acceleration of On-Line Learning This paper is intended to begin a broad discussion on what the Federal Government can do to help workers prepare for the rapidly changing labor market. It does not represent positions taken by the Markle Foundation or others. All comments are welcome.
Through the Skillful State Network, the Markle Foundation helps governors understand how to build skills-based labor markets in which all adults can thrive in the changing economy. As part of this effort, Markle helped inform a vision for the future of California’s labor market and identify potential opportunities. Markle drew upon its experience of working closely with America’s most innovative governors combined with an in-depth analysis of California’s labor market to define specific opportunities and actions needed to support a thriving labor market. The final report —highlighted the opportunities for California to 1) dramatically expand high-quality lifelong education for working adults 2) engage some of the world’s most dynamic employers in the creation of a skilled talent pipeline, and 3) leverage the unique data and technology capabilities in the state to help residents make informed decisions as they navigate the changing economy. It also highlights the importance of making sure that Californians from every region and those from traditionally underserved populations have the support they need to thrive. To help California develop a plan of action to meet these ambitious goals, the report includes potential options state government could consider and provides a framework to understand the relative impact of each option. The following analyses were also shared to support the creation the final report: California “Fact-Pack” provides a detailed analysis of the key trends shaping California’s statewide and regional labor markets, including labor demand and supply demographics, wages, and skills. California regional earnings analysis shows occupational earnings compared to employment growth over time at the state and MSA level. California regional supply and demand analysis illustrates current and projected skill gaps by comparing labor demand and supply by occupation and level of educational attainment at the state and MSA level. Sample intervention details provides additional examples of potential government actions that build momentum, possible metrics to measure success, and ranks potential interventions by expected impact. Additional case-studies summarizes existing programs from around the world in areas related to sample interventions that can help inform state leaders plans.
