[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 195 (Friday, October 8, 2010)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 62309-62311]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-25579]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 195 / Friday, October 8, 2010 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 62309]]
Memorandum of October 4, 2010
Establishing a Task Force on Skills for America's
Future
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and
Agencies
In order to compete in the global economy, the United
States needs the most educated workforce in the world.
The high-wage jobs of the 21st century will require
more knowledge and skills than the jobs of the past. We
therefore must develop innovative strategies to train
more Americans with the skills that businesses and the
economy will need to ensure American competitiveness.
Community colleges are a key part of our education
system, providing a flexible and affordable place to
sharpen relevant workforce skills and align them with
the needs of employers in their communities.
Traditional four-year colleges, on-line institutions,
and nontraditional educational outlets also can play an
essential role in providing training opportunities. To
prepare students for 21st-century jobs, these
institutions need to develop flexible, affordable, and
responsive training programs that meet regional and
national economic needs. An important way to ensure
that training programs meet such needs is through
partnerships between these institutions and labor
unions, small businesses, and other regional employers.
As educational institutions develop these innovative
programs, we should assess what works and what does
not, so that we reward excellent outcomes and true
innovation that meets the needs of entrepreneurs and
other employers in every part of the country, from
rural communities to urban centers.
Therefore, I am establishing a task force to develop
skills for America's future by identifying, developing,
and increasing the scale of promising approaches to
improving the skills of our Nation's workers. By
coordinating the work of relevant agencies with that of
nonprofits, labor unions, and private sector
organizations, and by leveraging the assets of these
entities, this effort will build better partnerships
between businesses, community colleges, and other
training providers to get Americans trained for the
jobs of today and tomorrow.
Section 1. Establishment. There is established an
interagency Task Force on Skills for America's Future
(Task Force) to ensure that Federal policies promote
innovative training programs and curricula, including
successful public-private partnerships, at community
colleges as well as in other settings, that will
prepare the American workforce for 21st-century jobs.
The Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, the
Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, and the
Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy shall
serve as Co-Chairs of the Task Force.
Sec. 2. Membership. In addition to the Co-Chairs, the
Task Force shall consist of the following members, or
any senior official designated by one of the following
members who is a part of the member's department,
agency, or office, and who is a full time employee of
the Federal Government:
(a) the Secretary of Defense;
(b) the Secretary of Agriculture;
(c) the Secretary of Commerce;
(d) the Secretary of Labor;
(e) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
[[Page 62310]]
(f) the Secretary of Transportation;
(g) the Secretary of Energy;
(h) the Secretary of Education;
(i) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs;
(j) the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget;
(k) the Administrator of the Small Business
Administration;
(l) the Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy; and
(m) the heads of other executive departments,
agencies, or offices as the Co-Chairs may designate.
Sec. 3. Administration. The Council of Economic
Advisers shall provide administrative support for the
Task Force to the extent permitted by law and within
existing appropriations.
Sec. 4. Mission and Functions. The Task Force shall
work across executive departments and agencies to
ensure that Federal policies facilitate, and offer
incentives for, innovative career-training and
education opportunities at community colleges as well
as in other settings, and that these opportunities are
directly related to skills and job requirements across
a range of industries. Using the best evidence
available regarding effective practice, the Task Force
shall develop recommendations and options for meeting
the following objectives:
(a) improved public-private collaboration to
develop career pathway and training programs with
effective curricula, certifiable skills, and industry-
recognized credentials and degrees;
(b) identification of opportunities to amplify,
accelerate, or increase the scale of, successful
public-private partnerships that match trained workers
with prospective employers;
(c) identification and development of stackable
credentials that provide entry to and advancement along
a career pathway in an in-demand occupation;
(d) outreach to relevant stakeholders--including
industry, the adult workforce, younger students,
educational institutions, labor unions, policymakers,
and community leaders--with expertise in skill
development;
(e) alignment of workforce training programs funded
by the Departments of Education and Labor, as well as
other Federal agencies, with innovative practices and
regional market demands, to build on effective skills-
based training for adult workers and younger students,
including individuals with disabilities;
(f) partnership with appropriate non-profit
entities to engage the private sector in developing
effective training programs that provide students with
recognizable and portable skills that are needed in the
marketplace; and
(g) greater use of technology to improve training,
skills assessment, and labor market information.
Sec. 5. General Provisions.
(a) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent
with applicable law and subject to the availability of
any necessary appropriations.
(b) This memorandum is not intended to, and does
not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
agents, or any other person.
(c) The heads of executive departments and agencies
shall assist and provide information to the Task Force,
consistent with applicable law, as may be necessary to
carry out the functions of the Task Force. Each
executive department, agency, and office shall bear its
own expenses of participating in the Task Force.
[[Page 62311]]
(d) The Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
is hereby authorized and directed to publish this
memorandum in the Federal Register.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
Washington, October 4, 2010
[FR Doc. 2010-25579
Filed 10-7-10; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-W1-P