Although the Trump administration continues to tout its support for American workers, workforce development and job training programs are conspicuously absent from the White House’s list of accomplishments in the first 100 days. Trump was elevated to the presidency on a rising tide of frustration among voters who feel that the economic and political system in this country no longer serves them. For these Americans struggling to reach the middle class, flexible and effective job training programs can provide the best shot at increased economic opportunity.

In this The Hill op-ed, published on May 3, 2017, Center for an Urban Future Senior Researcher Christian Gonzalez-Rivera assets that if President Trump and Congress are serious about putting more Americans on the path to the middle class, then Washington should be investing in a 21st century human capital system.

Read the op-ed here. 

This op-ed is a continuation of nearly two decades of research the Center for an Urban Future has done on workforce development and human capital. This piece and other recent work on these subjects has been made possible through generous support from the Altman Foundation, the Clark Foundation, and the Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation. We are also grateful for support from Fisher Brothers for the Center for an Urban Future’s Middle Class Jobs Project, and ongoing support from a number of other philanthropic funders.

Photo credit: Ashton Bingham/Unsplash