While watching last week’s State of the Union, I was surprised, but happy to hear a call for increasing domestic production – of pretty much everything – as a solution to inflation and to our recent and intractable supply chain issues. According to NBC News:

Biden offered a simple solution to one of the more radioactive issues facing his administration: fix inflation by making things in America.

“Lower your costs, not your wages,” Biden said. “That means make more cars and semiconductors in America.”

Biden argued that companies can manufacture products cheaper and faster by not relying on foreign supply chains.

I’ve heard others call for this, but I believe this is the first time I’ve heard it from a leader (let alone the top one!) in the federal government. I agree with the solution. We’ve built a fragile supply chain in order to save a few dollars, but the first time a regional or global disruption occurs, that supply chain breaks. Meaning, the few dollars you save are dwarfed in comparison to the ones you lose when you can’t get products and equipment.

Perhaps, the folks in Washington haven’t heard about the Great Resignation, but employers have seen a large and accelerating number of employees either retire, leave for other jobs, or drop out of the workforce entirely. As a result, existing employers are already facing a severe workforce shortage. How does anyone think we can repatriate the capacity that’s moved overseas over the last few decades? Who’s going to man those new factories and facilities?

What’s frustrating – and this applies equally to both sides of the aisle – is that no one has stepped up with a visionary policy to make this happen. The federal investment in CTE for example, through the Perkins Act, hasn’t moved in 15 years, moving from $1.3 billion in 2006 and $1.34 billion in 2021. That number should be 10 times higher – or more – if you want to start to move the needle on preparing the workforce. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) has a larger budget (around $10 billion) but covers the entire workforce through nine different programs. That’s not nearly sufficient either.

Does it look like our policymakers understand the enormity of our current problem, let alone the implications of significantly growing our industrial base? I suppose the mentions are a starting point – but if we want to actually address our current and future workforce crises, we’re going to need to see a dramatic increase in investment to solve this problem.

 

Brett Pawlowski is Executive Vice President of the National Center for College and Career (NC3T) (www.nc3t.com). NC3T provides planning, coaching, technical assistance, and tools. These strategies help community-based leadership teams plan and implement their college-career pathway systems and strengthen employer connections with education.