A New Commitment to 21st Century Skills

Speaking from Carnegie Mellon University, President Obama discusses the vital role advanced manufacturing will have in strengthening our economy and creating good, middle-class jobs:

Mark Thoma, who has a new blog, ponders a "new normal" (read: higher) unemployment rate. He points to something both NDN and Thoma have been writing about: concerns of higher structural unemployment.

I expect structural unemployment to be higher than it was, particularly in the next few years. We had too many resources in housing, finance, and automobile production, and it will take time for the economy to make the necessary structural adjustments. When this is combined with continuing globalization, as well as the higher savings rate and correspondingly lower consumption expected from households in the future, both of which cause structural change within the economy, the expectation is that the new target rate of unemployment will rise above the 4 percent level it was at before the recession.

Exactly how much it will rise and for how long is hard to say. A 5 or 6 percent rate, or even somewhat higher is certainly imaginable, but getting it right is important. If policymakers target an unemployment rate that is too low, they risk causing inflation (one reason for the high rate of inflation in the 1970s is that the Fed targeted a 4 percent unemployment rate when the actual rate of normal unemployment was much higher due to structural and demographic change). If they target a rate that is too high, then they risk having people be unnecessarily unemployed in the economy.

He goes on to point to a few ideas of how to deal with this - worker training and extended unemployment benefits among them. With unemployment at 10 percent, there are massive challenges involved in bringing that level back to "normal," but, as we craft economic policy going forward, it is important to understand that we're not going back to what we had, and policy must be responsive to the new economic realities. 

NDN believes this structural change, as well as the structural changes that have de-linked GDP and wage growth, represent the great governing challenges of the day. For years we've pointed to a three part agenda to deal with these issues. This agenda includes containing health care and energy costs, accelerating innovation, and investing in infrastructure and skills, all steps that will have to be taken to create broad based prosperity in the 21st century economy. 

Today, Thomas Friedman writes about the "education breakdown" in America:

“Our education failure is the largest contributing factor to the decline of the American worker’s global competitiveness, particularly at the middle and bottom ranges,” argued Martin, a former global executive with PepsiCo and Kraft Europe and now an international investor. “This loss of competitiveness has weakened the American worker’s production of wealth, precisely when technology brought global competition much closer to home. So over a decade, American workers have maintained their standard of living by borrowing and overconsuming vis-à-vis their real income. When the Great Recession wiped out all the credit and asset bubbles that made that overconsumption possible, it left too many American workers not only deeper in debt than ever, but out of a job and lacking the skills to compete globally.”

This problem will be reversed only when the decline in worker competitiveness reverses — when we create enough new jobs and educated workers that are worth, say, $40-an-hour compared with the global alternatives. If we don’t, there’s no telling how “jobless” this recovery will be.

A Washington lawyer friend recently told me about layoffs at his firm. I asked him who was getting axed. He said it was interesting: lawyers who were used to just showing up and having work handed to them were the first to go because with the bursting of the credit bubble, that flow of work just isn’t there. But those who have the ability to imagine new services, new opportunities and new ways to recruit work were being retained. They are the new untouchables.

That is the key to understanding our full education challenge today. Those who are waiting for this recession to end so someone can again hand them work could have a long wait. Those with the imagination to make themselves untouchables — to invent smarter ways to do old jobs, energy-saving ways to provide new services, new ways to attract old customers or new ways to combine existing technologies — will thrive. Therefore, we not only need a higher percentage of our kids graduating from high school and college — more education — but we need more of them with the right education.

As the Harvard University labor expert Lawrence Katz explains it: “If you think about the labor market today, the top half of the college market, those with the high-end analytical and problem-solving skills who can compete on the world market or game the financial system or deal with new government regulations, have done great. But the bottom half of the top, those engineers and programmers working on more routine tasks and not actively engaged in developing new ideas or recombining existing technologies or thinking about what new customers want, have done poorly. They’ve been much more exposed to global competitors that make them easily substitutable.”

There is no doubt that our education system is badly in need of an upgrade, but we also must be cognizant of fact that much of the current workforce just does not posses the skills to succeed in the globally interconnected, idea-based economy. This isn’t just a phenomenon of this recession; everyday Americans spent much of the Bush era falling behind due to the inability of their government to respond to their struggle and find a way to make the inextricably powerful forces of globalization work for all Americans. 

In that spirit, NDN’s Rob Shapiro has proposed a program to provide free computer training to all Americans, which can be found here and recently passed the House of Representatives in H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.

Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. Included in the legislation were provisions proposed in H.R. 2060, The Community College Technology Access Act, which would offer free computer training to all Americans through the nation’s community colleges. Sponsored by House Democratic Caucus Chair John Larson, H.R. 2060 was based on a 2007 NDN paper by Globalization Initiative Chair Dr. Robert Shapiro entitled Tapping the Resources of America's Community Colleges. These provisions are designed to increase worker skills in a 21st century economy in which facility with and connectivity to the global communications network are prerequisite for success. A companion bill, S. 1614, has been sponsored by Senator Chuck Schumer.

"Community Colleges reach every corner of this country with over 1100 in urban, rural and suburban settings." Larson said. "The legislation we passed today takes a bold step to expand the mission of our community colleges – making them a hub for training our workforce by opening their doors to provide the public with the basic computer training skills our workers need to succeed in a modern economy. I would particularly like to thank NDN and Dr. Robert Shapiro, for their hard work and advocacy on this issue as well as Chairman George Miller for including our language in his legislation."

"I salute the House of Representatives and especially Chairman John Larson for passing legislation that taps the resources and technology of community colleges to provide America's workers with the information-technology skills they'll need to succeed in a very competitive U.S. and global marketplace, particularly during tough times," Shapiro said. "Tens of millions of Americans entered our workforce before computers and the Internet became so ubiquitous. Many of them now are in what should be their most productive and highest-earning years. As non-wired jobs become increasingly rare, Americans without solid IT skills will find themselves economically marginalized. This legislation will help millions more American workers thrive in our idea-based economy."

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (NY) yesterday introduced a companion bill to one sponsored by U.S. Rep. John Larson (CT-01), Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, that taps the resources of the nation's approximately 1,200 community colleges to offer free computer training to workers and others seeking to improve their IT skills.

The Community College Technology Access Act of 2009 – S. 1614 and H.R. 2060 - is based on a paper written in 2007 by NDN Globalization Initiative Chair Dr. Robert Shapiro, Tapping the Resources of America’s Community Colleges: A Modest Proposal to Provide Universal Computer Training. During the presidential campaign, then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama endorsed the idea as part of his platform and, as President, recently announced the American Graduation Initiative, which includes a massive investment in the nation’s community college system.

As Shapiro wrote in his 2007 paper:

The typical community college computer lab is open and used by students 66.5 hours per week. These hours are highly concentrated in the daytime of weekdays, when most working people are on their jobs. Under our proposal, the federal government would provide grants to defray the costs of keeping these labs open and staffed by community college instructors an additional 30 hours each week, on evenings and weekends when these labs are generally closed or little-used. During those hours, any person would be able to walk in and receive instruction in computer-related skills, at no cost. We estimate that if two-thirds of community colleges participate, and each provides three instructors for 30 hours a week, 48 weeks a year, Congress could provide every worker in America access to IT training for about $125 million a year.

Said Schumer, the Vice-Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, "Anytime that we can increase opportunities for our workers to gain access to computers and IT training, we are investing in the future of our job market and our economy. Our community colleges play a critical role in workforce training, and this program will enable workers and students to access community college computer labs for free during times when they would otherwise go unused. I am proud to have introduced this legislation in the Senate to help brighten the future of our workers and our community colleges."

"In joining with Chairman Larson to sponsor this legislation, Senator Schumer has again shown that he understands the need to move aggressively to provide America's workers with the skills to succeed in the competitive U.S. and global economies, particularly during tough economic times," said Shapiro, a former Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs. "The Community College Technology Access Act presents the country with a vision for helping every worker who wants to get ahead. Tens of millions of Americans entered our workforce before computers and the Internet became ubiquitous. Many of them now are in what could be their most productive and highest- earning years. Without access to information technology skills, however, many of them will never fulfill their potential or may find themselves trapped in dead-end jobs.  As non-wired employment becomes increasingly rare, Americans without solid IT skills will find themselves economically marginalized. This program can help millions more American workers thrive in our idea-based economy."

For more on NDN's efforts on worker skills and facility with the global communications network, visit our 21st century skills page.

Recently, President Obama announced a strong committment to America's community colleges in the form of the American Graduation Initiative. NDN, a long-time proponent of harnessing the resources of community colleges to upgrade worker skills, has been collaborating with House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson on H.R. 2060, the Community College Technology Access Act of 2009. Here's what Larson had to say about the President's new program and H.R. 2060:

President Obama once again displayed his gift for transformational leadership when he announced this morning an innovative initiative to strengthen community colleges across the country so they can build the American workforce of the future.  I am a strong believer that community colleges can be a hub for technology and job training in our communities if they are given the resources that our schools and students need.

I've introduced The Community College Technology Access Act, developed with the support of the NDN, which will open the doors of community college technology labs and training opportunities to the public in order to provide workers who are lacking key computer skills the opportunity to attain them.  By broadening their mission, community colleges have the potential to be a hub to train our workforce for the jobs of the future. My legislation helps them fulfill their potential and boosts local economies around the country.  I commend the President’s leadership on this issue and look forward to working with him on it.

H.R. 2060 continues to gain support in the House of Representatives, and now has 46 cosponsors:

Rep Miller, Brad [NC-13] - 4/23/2009
Rep Hare, Phil [IL-17] - 4/23/2009
Rep Wu, David [OR-1] - 4/23/2009
Rep Edwards, Donna F. [MD-4] - 4/23/2009
Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15] - 4/23/2009
Rep Himes, James A. [CT-4] - 4/23/2009
Rep Murphy, Patrick J. [PA-8] - 4/23/2009
Rep Ehlers, Vernon J. [MI-3] - 4/23/2009
Rep Sestak, Joe [PA-7] - 4/23/2009
Rep Kilpatrick, Carolyn C. [MI-13] - 4/23/2009
Rep Sablan, Gregorio [MP] - 4/23/2009
Rep Napolitano, Grace F. [CA-38] - 4/23/2009
Rep Markey, Betsy [CO-4] - 4/23/2009
Rep Ross, Mike [AR-4] - 4/23/2009
Rep Matsui, Doris O. [CA-5] - 4/23/2009
Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] - 4/23/2009
Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] - 4/23/2009
Rep Smith, Adam [WA-9] - 4/23/2009
Rep Grayson, Alan [FL-8] - 4/27/2009
Rep Castle, Michael N. [DE] - 4/27/2009
Rep Costello, Jerry F. [IL-12] - 4/27/2009
Rep Kennedy, Patrick J. [RI-1] - 4/28/2009
Rep Reyes, Silvestre [TX-16] - 5/4/2009
Rep Polis, Jared [CO-2] - 5/6/2009
Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] - 5/18/2009
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] - 6/2/2009
Rep Pierluisi, Pedro R. [PR] - 6/2/2009
Rep Langevin, James R. [RI-2] - 6/2/2009
Rep Sires, Albio [NJ-13] - 6/3/2009
Rep Schwartz, Allyson Y. [PA-13] - 6/4/2009
Rep McIntyre, Mike [NC-7] - 6/8/2009
Rep Blumenauer, Earl [OR-3] - 6/9/2009
Rep Gutierrez, Luis V. [IL-4] - 6/11/2009
Rep Roybal-Allard, Lucille [CA-34] - 6/11/2009
Rep Lofgren, Zoe [CA-16] - 6/24/2009
Rep Courtney, Joe [CT-2] - 6/25/2009
Rep Ryan, Tim [OH-17] - 7/8/2009
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] - 7/8/2009
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] - 7/8/2009
Rep Price, David E. [NC-4] - 7/9/2009
Rep Olver, John W. [MA-1] - 7/10/2009
Rep Tonko, Paul D. [NY-21] - 7/13/2009
Rep Eshoo, Anna G. [CA-14] - 7/15/2009
Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] - 7/21/2009
Rep Schauer, Mark H. [MI-7] - 7/21/2009
Rep Wexler, Robert [FL-19] - 7/24/2009

President Obama has been a long time supporter of the notion that America's community college system can help create a workforce for a 21st century economy. He sounded that note in an op-ed on Sunday and his White House Council of Economic Advisors wrote on the value of community colleges in training the American workforce in a report released today on the Jobs of the Future.

Obama in the Washington Post:

We believe it's time to reform our community colleges so that they provide Americans of all ages a chance to learn the skills and knowledge necessary to compete for the jobs of the future. Our community colleges can serve as 21st-century job training centers, working with local businesses to help workers learn the skills they need to fill the jobs of the future. We can reallocate funding to help them modernize their facilities, increase the quality of online courses and ultimately meet the goal of graduating 5 million more Americans from community colleges by 2020.

From the CEA report, entitled Preparing the Workers of Today for the Jobs of Tomorrow (emphasis added):

Research suggests that the most valuable credentials are those in quantitatively-oriented fields or high-growth/high-need occupations such as health care. Similarly, evidence from Washington State suggests that displaced workers who attend a community college substantially increase their long-term earnings compared to those who do not. Again, the benefits are greatest for academic courses in math and science as well as courses related to the health professions and other technical fields. These findings point to a powerful role for community college education in helping displaced workers through the current economic downturn, particularly if they take classes in fields related to high-growth industries and occupations.

NDN could not agree more with the President and his economic team. Recently, House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson introduced H.R. 2060, The Community College Technology Access Act of 2009, which is based on a paper written in 2007 by NDN Globalization Initiative Chair Dr. Robert Shapiro called Tapping the Resources of America’s Community Colleges: A Modest Proposal to Provide Universal Computer Training. The legislation offers free computer training to all Americans through the already existing infrastructure of the nation's approximately 1,200 community colleges.

The bill is faring quite well in the House, with cosponsorship from 41 members:

Rep Blumenauer, Earl [OR-3] - 6/9/2009
Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] - 4/23/2009
Rep Castle, Michael N. [DE] - 4/27/2009
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] - 7/8/2009
Rep Costello, Jerry F. [IL-12] - 4/27/2009
Rep Courtney, Joe [CT-2] - 6/25/2009
Rep Edwards, Donna F. [MD-4] - 4/23/2009
Rep Ehlers, Vernon J. [MI-3] - 4/23/2009
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] - 7/8/2009
Rep Grayson, Alan [FL-8] - 4/27/2009
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] - 6/2/2009
Rep Gutierrez, Luis V. [IL-4] - 6/11/2009
Rep Hare, Phil [IL-17] - 4/23/2009
Rep Himes, James A. [CT-4] - 4/23/2009
Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15] - 4/23/2009
Rep Kennedy, Patrick J. [RI-1] - 4/28/2009
Rep Kilpatrick, Carolyn C. [MI-13] - 4/23/2009
Rep Langevin, James R. [RI-2] - 6/2/2009
Rep Lofgren, Zoe [CA-16] - 6/24/2009
Rep Markey, Betsy [CO-4] - 4/23/2009
Rep Matsui, Doris O. [CA-5] - 4/23/2009
Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] - 4/23/2009
Rep McIntyre, Mike [NC-7] - 6/8/2009
Rep Miller, Brad [NC-13] - 4/23/2009
Rep Murphy, Patrick J. [PA-8] - 4/23/2009
Rep Napolitano, Grace F. [CA-38] - 4/23/2009
Rep Olver, John W. [MA-1] - 7/10/2009
Rep Pierluisi, Pedro R. [PR] - 6/2/2009
Rep Polis, Jared [CO-2] - 5/6/2009
Rep Price, David E. [NC-4] - 7/9/2009
Rep Reyes, Silvestre [TX-16] - 5/4/2009
Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] - 5/18/2009
Rep Ross, Mike [AR-4] - 4/23/2009
Rep Roybal-Allard, Lucille [CA-34] - 6/11/2009
Rep Ryan, Tim [OH-17] - 7/8/2009
Rep Sablan, Gregorio [MP] - 4/23/2009
Rep Schwartz, Allyson Y. [PA-13] - 6/4/2009
Rep Sestak, Joe [PA-7] - 4/23/2009
Rep Sires, Albio [NJ-13] - 6/3/2009
Rep Smith, Adam [WA-9] - 4/23/2009
Rep Wu, David [OR-1] - 4/23/2009

The bill, based on a proposal from our own Dr. Robert Shapiro that would offer free computer training to all Americans through the nation's community colleges and introduced by House Democratic Caucus Chair John Larson, H.R. 2060 The Community College Technology Access Act of 2009, continues to gain momentum. The bill is growing stronger in the House of Representatives, as it now has 34 cosponsors and has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness. The cosponsors are:

Rep Blumenauer, Earl [OR-3]
Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU]
Rep Castle, Michael N. [DE]
Rep Costello, Jerry F. [IL-12]
Rep Edwards, Donna F. [MD-4]
Rep Ehlers, Vernon J. [MI-3]
Rep Grayson, Alan [FL-8]
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7]
Rep Gutierrez, Luis V. [IL-4]
Rep Hare, Phil [IL-17]
Rep Himes, James A. [CT-4]
Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15]
Rep Kennedy, Patrick J. [RI-1]
Rep Kilpatrick, Carolyn C. [MI-13]
Rep Langevin, James R. [RI-2]
Rep Markey, Betsy [CO-4]
Rep Matsui, Doris O. [CA-5]
Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3]
Rep McIntyre, Mike [NC-7]
Rep Miller, Brad [NC-13]
Rep Murphy, Patrick J. [PA-8]
Rep Napolitano, Grace F. [CA-38]
Rep Pierluisi, Pedro R. [PR]
Rep Polis, Jared [CO-2]
Rep Reyes, Silvestre [TX-16]
Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18]
Rep Ross, Mike [AR-4]
Rep Roybal-Allard, Lucille [CA-34]
Rep Sablan, Gregorio [MP]
Rep Schwartz, Allyson Y. [PA-13]
Rep Sestak, Joe [PA-7]
Rep Sires, Albio [NJ-13]
Rep Smith, Adam [WA-9]
Rep Wu, David [OR-1]

It's a great bill, and we applaud Chairman John Larson for his leadership in building a 21st century economic agenda for America by ensuring that our workers have the tools to compete in the interconnected era of globalization.

As readers of this blog know, House Democratic Caucus Chair John Larson recently offered a bill - H.R. 2060, The Community College Technology Access Act of 2009 - based on a proposal from our own Dr. Robert Shapiro that would offer free computer training to all Americans through the nation's community colleges. Since I last updated on this proposal, six more members of the House of Representatives have signed on to cosponsor H.R. 2060, bringing the total number of cosponsors to 31. The cosponsors are:

Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] - 4/23/2009
Rep Castle, Michael N. [DE] - 4/27/2009
Rep Costello, Jerry F. [IL-12] - 4/27/2009
Rep Edwards, Donna F. [MD-4] - 4/23/2009
Rep Ehlers, Vernon J. [MI-3] - 4/23/2009
Rep Grayson, Alan [FL-8] - 4/27/2009
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] - 6/2/2009
Rep Hare, Phil [IL-17] - 4/23/2009
Rep Himes, James A. [CT-4] - 4/23/2009
Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15] - 4/23/2009
Rep Kennedy, Patrick J. [RI-1] - 4/28/2009
Rep Kilpatrick, Carolyn C. [MI-13] - 4/23/2009
Rep Langevin, James R. [RI-2] - 6/2/2009
Rep Markey, Betsy [CO-4] - 4/23/2009
Rep Matsui, Doris O. [CA-5] - 4/23/2009
Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] - 4/23/2009
Rep McIntyre, Mike [NC-7] - 6/8/2009
Rep Miller, Brad [NC-13] - 4/23/2009
Rep Murphy, Patrick J. [PA-8] - 4/23/2009
Rep Napolitano, Grace F. [CA-38] - 4/23/2009
Rep Pierluisi, Pedro R. [PR] - 6/2/2009
Rep Polis, Jared [CO-2] - 5/6/2009
Rep Reyes, Silvestre [TX-16] - 5/4/2009
Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] - 5/18/2009
Rep Ross, Mike [AR-4] - 4/23/2009
Rep Sablan, Gregorio [MP] - 4/23/2009
Rep Schwartz, Allyson Y. [PA-13] - 6/4/2009
Rep Sestak, Joe [PA-7] - 4/23/2009
Rep Sires, Albio [NJ-13] - 6/3/2009
Rep Smith, Adam [WA-9] - 4/23/2009
Rep Wu, David [OR-1] - 4/23/2009

If your member of Congress (or boss) is not already on that list, encourage them to support H.R. 2060, which is part of NDN's work to create a 21st century economic strategy for America by investing in worker skills and technology. If you have further questions on the bill or original proposal, please email me.