Skills2Compete States Take to the Hill.

On national campaign’s 2nd anniversary, state Skills2Compete campaigns bring their message to Capitol Hill

Representatives from Skills2Compete campaigns in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin came to DC in early November to brief Members of Congress and the Administration on their state’s findings and encourage further federal efforts to ensure that all workers can get the skills they need to play a role in the economic recovery. Each state campaign brought a diverse range of stakeholders—including representatives from business, labor, community colleges, the public workforce sector, and community-based organizations—to demonstrate that the middle-skills gap impacts all sectors of the economy. State campaigns met with over 30 Member offices and continue to move these issues forward both within their states and at the federal level. View photos from the event.

The visit to Washington came on the anniversary of the national campaign. Two years prior, National Skills Coalition (formerly The Workforce Alliance), with over 100 endorsing organizations, launched the national Skills2Compete campaign. The campaign's signature publication, America’s Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs, made the initial case for a 21st-century skills guarantee that could address the unmet demand for U.S. workers with middle-skill credentials.

With attention to the campaign’s problem statement deepening in the media, federal policymakers began to take notice. Members of Congress used the campaign’s framework to propose new skill guarantees and innovative training initiatives. And in February 2009, inspired by the Skills2Compete campaign and others, President Obama called on all Americans to commit to “at least one year or more of higher education or career training.” That call to action was followed by new training investments under the Recovery Act and the proposed American Graduation Initiative.

But the campaign has not only had an impact in Washington. Over the last year, nine state S2C campaigns have formed, releasing Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs reports, grabbing headlines, and starting to move policymakers and policy conversations. We’re pleased to highlight some of the great work by our campaign partners over the last few months in this anniversary issue.