Coming on the eve of today’s White House community college summit, the Obama Administration has announced a new program that will link top companies with community colleges in hopes of ramping up America’s job skills.
The partnership plan called “Skills for America’s Future” is a key recommendation of President Barack Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which met Monday with the president at the White House.
Obama said the plan aims to improve industry partnerships with community colleges and build a nationwide network to maximize workforce development.
“We want to make it easier to join students looking for jobs with businesses looking to hire,” Obama said in a White House fact sheet. “We want to put community colleges and employers together to create programs that match curricula in the classroom with the needs of the boardroom.”
The “Skills for America’s Future” announcement was the first such proclamation coinciding with the White House summit on community colleges led by Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden. Dr. Biden is a longtime community college teacher.
Summit Convenes With College Leaders
Earlier this year, Obama asked Dr. Biden to host a fall conference “to provide an opportunity for community college leaders, students, education experts and business leaders to share innovative ways to educate our way to a better economy.” Biden teaches English at Northern Virginia Community College.
