Jobs, Skills, & Training

The city’s workforce is comprised of a richly diverse set of people with varying levels of education and skills. I support a significant investment in a robust array of skill-building programs to help all people get the training needed to get high-quality, living wage jobs. Workers must be able to choose from an array of high-quality, affordable choices that include two- or four-year colleges as well as options like apprenticeships, skills training, and short-term credential programs closely linked to the regional job market. While our current focus is on recovering from a decade filled with economic disruptions, the result must be a more equitable sharing in the prosperity workers create and makes both workers and the economy resilient to future challenges.

Re‐skilling for new economies. More and better investments in skills training is needed to prepare workers for the jobs of tomorrow. Workers need to upgrade their skills to keep pace with the introduction of new technologies in the workplace, the acceleration of those trends due to COVID, and to benefit from emerging fields and industries, like the clean energy economy.

Upskilling the entry‐level workforce. Create stronger programs and partnerships between schools, community organizations and community colleges to provide entry-level workers with the foundational skills and stackable credentials they need to get good paying jobs and embark on career pathways.

Expanding pre- and apprenticeship programs and work-based learning. Allowing workers to learn while they earn means more people can get the training they need while caring for their families and meeting their obligations. As many workers don’t qualify for apprenticeships or other jobs, I support expanding programs that get more workers the skills needed to succeed.

Making financial aid available to people seeking skills training. Expand financial aid to include workers who take high-quality, short-term training programs that improve their job and career prospects but that don’t attend college and therefore don’t qualify.

Public-Private Partnerships to close the skills gap. I support creating more partnerships between businesses and the workforce and education systems to develop more effective and focused training, leading to industry-recognized credentials and certifications that lead to good paying jobs and careers in specific fields, such as health care, IT, financial services, and the clean energy economy.

Improve data systems and tools. Student debt and a lack of program completion due to cost evidence the problem many learners face. Investment in data systems and freely-available tools will give every student, family, and worker access to fully transparent information that tells them exactly what an education or training programs costs, which ones provide the best return on investment, and which fields offer good paying jobs and career pathways.