Walter G. Bumphus, president and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges, will serve on the President’s Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion. The task force — which represent companies, trade and industry groups, educational institutions and labor unions — has substantial workforce development experience in addressing the nation’s skills gap, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta said in a press release. “Expanding apprenticeships will help Americans learn the skills they need to æll jobs that are open right now and in the future,” he said. “The members of the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion will provide varied perspectives that will help guide the administration’s strategy on growing apprenticeship programs nationwide.” In June, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to expand apprenticeships as part of a national job education and training effort. Acosta emphasized the importance of apprenticeships when he spoke in August at the AACC board of directors’ summer retreat in Washington, D.C. The task force is chaired by Acosta, with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross serving as vice chairs. “Apprenticeships have the potential to offer America’s students the hands-on education needed for today’s in-demand jobs, and expanding these opportunities will prepare them for success in the 21st century economy,” DeVos said in a statement. Other member of the group include: Andrew Liveris, CEO of Dow Chemical Company; Joshua Bolten, president of the Business Roundtable; South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds; and actor and workforce training advocate John Ratzenberger, among others.
