Minnesota Governor discusses skills gap.

Minnesota’s Skills Gap Takes Center Stage at Governor’s Jobs Summit

On October 25, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton hosted a statewide Jobs Summit in St. Paul, covering a range of issues including economic growth, competitiveness and job creation. Employers and entrepreneurs, civic leaders, educators, and workforce officials were among those in attendance. Several business leaders—from healthcare to manufacturing—spoke of their difficulties in finding qualified workers to fill open positions despite the state’s high unemployment rate. Read more about the conversation here.

Inez Wildwood, Business Leader and Chair of the Governor’s Workforce Development Council, led a session at the Summit on aligning postsecondary education and worker training with the jobs of the future. The session featured notable panelists from Minnesota’s education, workforce, and civic sectors, including: Steven Rosenstone, Chancellor, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities; Mark Phillips, Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development; Sarah Caruso, President and Chief Executive Officer, Greater Twin Cities United Way; Dane Smith, President, Growth and Justice; Greg Mulcahy, President, Minnesota State College Faculty; Brenda Cassellius, Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Education; and, Bryan Lindsley, Executive Director, Governor's Workforce Development Council.

The Summit and its focus on the Minnesota's skills gap is just one of several events held recently on this issue. Last week, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker acknowledged his state’s skills gap and the potential it has to stifle economic growth before a group of  Wisconsin manufacturers.

To close Minnesota’s skills gap, Governor Dayton’s Workforce Development Council and the Greater Twin Cities United Way are joining forces to form the Skills@Work Campaign to build public support for policy solutions that can raise the skills of Minnesota's workforce. The campaign will launch formally next month.