US Chamber of Commerce

WASHINGTON, D.C. —The Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW), an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, announced the five awardees of a grant in support of the release of Leaders & Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Public Postsecondary Education. The grants will help five business organizations host activities that advance public policy in higher education while informing the community on how their state’s education systems are performing.

“Greater engagement by the business community in postsecondary education is vital to ensuring the nation’s education systems are preparing students for the jobs of a 21st century economy,” said Cheryl Oldham, vice president of ICW. “Currently, there are three million jobs that remain unfilled partially due to an unskilled workforce. These five organizations understand the critical role that the business community plays in aligning education with workforce needs.”

The five grant recipients are:

• Association of Washington Business Institute
• Indiana Chamber of Commerce
• Minnesota Chamber of Commerce
• Sarasota Chamber of Commerce
• Texas Association of Business

“With 90% of the fastest growing jobs requiring some form of postsecondary education, states must address the critical issues facing higher education,” Oldham said. “Unlike the K-12 education system, our higher education system is not nearly ambitious enough about what it’s measuring, and this lack of data limits our ability to assess where we stand and where improvement is necessary.”

Leaders & Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Public Postsecondary Education is the 3rd edition of the Leaders & Laggards series. The report will provide a state-by-state analysis on how public higher education is performing in areas including return on investment, transparency, and innovation. The report will also provide recommendations to states on how to improve in these areas. ICW will be hosting a report release event on June 19 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters.

www.uschamber.com/icw             # # #            @uschambericw

The Institute for a Competitive Workforce is a nonprofit, non-partisan, 501(c)(3) affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, promoting the rigorous educational standards and effective job training systems needed to preserve the strength of America's greatest economic resource, its workforce.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than three million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.