US Chamber of Commerce

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sets forth policy recommendations on education and workforce issues.

Below is the Chamber's position on employment and training:

Developing a Business-Driven Employment and Training System

The purpose of a national employment and training system is to help increase opportunities for individuals to prepare for and find employment and to provide investment in an educated, skilled, and adaptable workforce able to meet the needs of employers.

The current employment and training system consists of numerous (often overlapping) programs throughout the federal government involving multiple federal agencies, each with separate rules and regulations. Typically these individual programs focus on targeted populations such as displaced workers, welfare recipients, and economically disadvantaged individuals. For many of these individuals, the services provided are often a critical, and a last-chance opportunity to reconnect to the workforce. However, the confusion and bureaucracy of the current system hampers the ability for these individuals to receive the services they need and deters employers from wanting to participate in meaningful ways.

To read the full policy declaration, please visit the U.S. Chamber's Education and Workforce Training Issues site.

Read the Chamber's testimony on “New Innovations and Best Practices Under the Workforce Investment Act” to the House Committee on Education and Labor Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness. (Feb. 12, 2009)