Executive order establishes workforce council

Published On: July 24, 2018Categories: Industry News, News

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to prioritize and expand workforce development, which seeks to create and fill American jobs with American workers. The order establishes the National Council for the American Worker with the goals of developing a national strategy for training and retraining workers, and utilizing data to connect American businesses, workers and educational institutions. The council will be comprised of top administration officials focused on equipping Americans with skills necessary to move from an entry-level job into a lifelong career. An outside advisory board of leaders from the business and education communities will work with the administration to implement job training and workforce development programs across the country.

Prioritizing technical, vocational, and apprenticeship programs is a top priority of the recreational marine industry. The industry is facing a shortfall of qualified workers for manufacturing, technicians and service repairs. According to a study by the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, by 2019 there will be 31,000 unfilled jobs in the U.S. marine industry. In May of this year, the marine industry unveiled the “10+1 Strategy: A Marine Industry Guide to Growing the Workforce” designed to help address the workforce challenges facing the industry.