Andy Van Kleunen kicks off jobs session.

National Skills Coalition’s Andy Van Kleunen kicks off “Main Street” session at White House jobs forum

Yesterday the White House held a Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth, bringing together 130 leaders from labor, academia, non-profits, and business to discuss innovative ideas for addressing the nation’s unemployment rate. National Skills Coalition Executive Director Andy Van Kleunen kicked off one of the afternoon breakout sessions, Preparing Workers and Strengthening Main Street, moderated by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes. In his opening comments, Van Kleunen stressed the importance of connecting short-term job creation to long-term career and industry building through effective, targeted investments. Following the Forum, Van Kleunen was one of a number of experts from the field, including economist Jeffrey Sachs, who weighed in on the issue on MSNBC and in the print media.