Originally posted on Louisiana Economic Development
WASHINGTON — Today, LED Secretary Don Pierson joined President Donald Trump and two-dozen other officials in a strategic Workforce of Tomorrow conference at the White House. Key topics of the event, which anchored the Trump administration’s Workforce Week, included eliminating the skills gap of Americans, expanding apprenticeships, and recognizing the value of skills-focused education.
Louisiana has addressed each of those challenges and successfully integrated solutions throughout its workforce delivery system, which includes the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, or LCTCS; the Louisiana Workforce Commission; the Louisiana Department of Education; the Louisiana Board of Regents; and Louisiana Economic Development, or LED.
“In Louisiana, we are working to retain and expand our existing employers first, while also targeting the growth of new industry sectors in which our state stands the best chance for success,” Secretary Pierson said. “We have implemented custom workforce solutions for our expanding employers, we have collaborated across state agencies to create new pathways to careers, and we have done all of these things in close consultation and partnership with our private sector. Neither our public nor our private sector partners can afford to work in silos. We need to marshal our collective resources and implement recruitment and training strategies that support success in every region of our state. At the White House conference, I was proud to report that working with our state, regional and local allies, we are advancing workforce goals in a truly positive fashion in Louisiana.”
Thursday’s Workforce of Tomorrow sessions featured an hour-long working discussion with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, Administrator Linda McMahon of the U.S. Small Business Administration and senior White House staff, including presidential adviser Ivanka Trump; Reed Cordish, assistant to the president for Intergovernmental & Technology Initiatives; and Andrew Bremberg, assistant to the president and director of the Domestic Policy Council.
