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Established by the White House, the board is focused on expanding new opportunities, training and workforce development for Americans of all ages.
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC - Sept. 17, 2019 – Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s president and CEO Jim Clark will host the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board Meeting with Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington at their Clubhouse #14 on Wednesday, September 18, 2019. Earlier this year, Clark was appointed to serve on the board along with 24 top leaders, comprised of representatives from the public, private, education, labor, and not-for-profit sectors including the CEOs of Apple and Walmart as well as Advisory Board Co-Chairs U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and Presidential Adviser Ivanka Trump. Boys & Girls Clubs of America is the only youth-serving nonprofit organization on the Board.
“We can see so clearly the future of our nation by how we are setting our kids and teens up for success. Economic mobility and good jobs change lives, and transform communities,” said Clark. “Boys & Girls Clubs of America believes that all young people deserve to have the tools and resources that will set them up for a successful life and career. We are committed to equipping young people, starting in elementary school thru high school, with the essential skills and abilities needed to succeed once they graduate from high school.”
Today, it is critical that the next generation of workers are prepared and enabled to become leaders of tomorrow. However, more than 75% of youth express concerns about whether they have the skills necessary to secure a job. With the skills gap as a driving force, the Board will work to put forward an innovative and accessible course of action that empowers workers and further strengthens America’s economy.
“Ensuring that the workers of tomorrow have the skills they’ll need to thrive in a rapidly changing economy is a core mission of the White House and our Advisory Board. Boys & Girls Clubs of America, a valued partner in our Pledge to America’s Workers, is making critical early investment in our kids as they develop the tools and talents they will need throughout their lives,” said Ivanka Trump, adviser to the President. “I’m excited to hear directly from these youth about the wonderful programs they are offered and to meeting with our Board to advance our country’s investment in its greatest resource- the American worker.”
Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s reach, scale and experience helps to prepare today’s youth for success in tomorrow’s workforce. Each year 4.7 million kids and teens attend more than 4,600 Clubs to gain the essential skills needed to be successful in the workforce and in life.
“The American Workforce Policy Advisory Board plays an essential role in the President’s push to ensure workers across the United States have access to the highly skilled, well-paid jobs of the future,” said Secretary Ross. “With the help of organizations like Boys & Girls Clubs of America, we are making strides closing the skills gap, modernizing training, and driving investment to build the workforce of tomorrow.”
Not only do Clubs help equip youth with technical capabilities, such as reading, math, substantive knowledge, but they teach essential skills like judgment/decision-making, communications and collaboration, which employers named as the most in-demand competencies in the labor market
While each Boys & Girls Club is responsive to the workforce needs of its own community, there are four overarching pillars that support workforce readiness: essential-skill development, career exposure, employability and certification and work-based learning. Boys & Girls Clubs infuses these skills in all programming and is seeing positive results.
As of today, 97 percent of Club teens say they expect to graduate high school on time and 87 percent expect to attend college. Some 2,900 Clubs offer at least one STEM program - including computer science, robotics and digital arts. High school Club members in 12th grade are twice as likely to express an interest in a STEM career as 12th graders nationally (52 percent of 12th grade Club members versus 27 percent of national 12th graders report having this interest). In addition, nearly 2,700 Clubs offer first-job readiness programs, including career exploration, financial literacy and/or college preparation.
Click here for more information on the White House Pledge to America’s Workers and the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board. For more information on Boys & Girls Clubs workforce programming, click here.
Sara Leutzinger
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
404-487-5624
sleutzinger@bgca.org
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