UpSkill America is an employer-led movement to expand economic opportunity for American workers. Members are The Aspen Institute Skills for America's Future, The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), The National Fund for Workforce Solutions, Business Leaders United for Workforce Partnerships (National Skills Coalition), and the Committee for Economic Development. All of these members are worth knowing about. The Upskill America website is http://www.upskillamerica.org/. Clearly employers taking responsibility for upskilling their workers is an important part of narrowing the skills gap between workers and available jobs. Already the following best practices have been identified:
Best Practices for Employer-Provided Training
- Increase investments in frontline workers to pave the way for job progression and better pay
- Expand employee eligibility of higher education benefits and encourage more frontline workers to take advantage of them
- Reward frontline workers' on-the-job training and skill mastery with promotions and incentives
- Work with other employers and partners so that frontline workers’ learning and training leads to marketable and nationally recognized credentials that can generate higher pay
- Create or expand apprenticeship program for investing in training
- Offer scheduling flexibility or stability - and related supports - to frontline workers that allows them to succeed at training, higher education, and career advancement