Giving Compass' Take:

• Elizabeth Mann at Brookings discusses how employers can impact, addressing and shrink the skills gap through internal pathways, pay for skils programs, and other outlets. 

• How can workforce development programs partner with high schools and universities to facilitate changes in curriculum design?

Here's what closing the skills gap can look like. 


Employers have an important leadership role to play in providing viable pathways into the workforce, particularly amid uncertainty about exactly what the future of work will look like. This leadership can take many different forms, from partnering with local high schools, to creating internal skills development programs, to identifying the skills they need and communicating these skills to local education and community partners.

The four manufacturing employers interviewed for this series are each taking an approach to workforce development tailored to their company’s needs and the local labor market landscape. While their specific approaches vary, several common themes emerge from the perspectives shared throughout this series.

To begin, the employers interviewed in this series acknowledge the urgency of addressing the skills gap in light of hiring challenges. John Hazen White Jr., CEO of Taco Inc., cites the impending exodus of baby boomers as a primary source of concern, while Lauren Mynsberge at Batesville Tool and Die (BTD) says that the company has “tried various new approaches to attracting and retaining workforce, yet we still can’t find employees.” Dan Peterson, vice president for industry and government affairs at the Cook Group, explains that “a big challenge for us is finding enough people that are capable to do the work.”

Read the full article about addressing the skills gap by Elizabeth Mann at Brookings.