Trump pushes for job training

Companies sign pledge to teach workers skills

WASHINGTON — Promoting a robust economy, President Donald Trump pressed U.S. companies and trade associations on Thursday to enhance their job training programs as employers search for qualified skilled workers to fill vacancies.

“We need people with training,” Trump declared.

At an event in the East Room, Trump told corporate leaders and workers that the nation’s students and workers need more opportunities to attain apprenticeships, vocational opportunities and job training.

The president said nearly two dozen companies and trade organizations had agreed to sign a pledge to provide the training for their workforce during the next five years.

“Companies are pouring back into our country — companies that frankly left 10 and 20 years ago — and they’re coming back and we need people to work for those companies,” Trump said. “We need talented people. We need people with training.”

The White House said the “Pledge to America’s Workers” would provide at least 3.8 million new career opportunities for students and workers over the next five years, including apprenticeships, workbased learning and continuing education.

Some of the companies signing the pledge include Apple, Boeing, General Motors, Fedex, The Home Depot, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Northrop Grumman and Walmart. Several trade associations also committed to the job training initiative, and Trump welcomed several members of Congress and state and local officials, including Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker.