WASHINGTON — Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., who leads national initiatives on workforce development as the president and chief executive officer of SHRM — the Society for Human Resource Management — was named today to the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The advisory board, led by the secretary of commerce and the adviser to the president overseeing the Office of Economic Initiative, will make recommendations to the National Council for the American Worker on how to ensure that America’s students and workers have access to affordable, relevant and innovative education and training to equip them for success in the global economy.
“Our ability to skill up workers deeply impacts our long-term economic prospects and global competitiveness,” said Taylor, who holds a SHRM-SCP. “The advisory board and the HR community have a common goal of training, developing and educating the workforce. With this shared mission, I’m pleased to bring SHRM’s workforce development expertise to the important work of the board.”
In
SHRM research released this month, two-thirds of managers and executives described the state of the workforce as experiencing a talent shortage.
“With 7.3 million job openings and most employers having difficulty recruiting skilled workers, it’s time to forge a better alliance between education and employment, invest in workforce training and open our recruiting efforts to nontraditional pools of talent,” said Taylor, whose 25 years of experience in business, law and HR is accompanied by eight years in the field of education. “I will advocate for public policies that strengthen employer investment in workforce training.”
SHRM was one of the first to sign the Trump administration’s Pledge to America’s Workers in July, committing to educate and prepare more than 127,000 HR professionals through the SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP certification programs over the next five years.
SHRM’s focus on workforce development also includes:
• Advocating for more apprenticeship programs and the expansion of employer-provided education assistance to include student debt repayment.
• Partnering with Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) to link HR professionals in seven states with JAG programs in a
mentorship pilot program working directly with youth.
• Leading the
Getting Talent Back to Work initiative, which encourages businesses to commit to considering people with criminal backgrounds in their hiring efforts. To support this commitment, SHRM has published a
resource toolkit for employers to advance their hiring practices.
“The American Workforce Policy Advisory Board is where government, business and education come together to address the urgency of the skills crisis,” Taylor said. “Collectively, we can identify solutions to better preparing individuals for today’s jobs and ensure workers are ready for the demands of tomorrow.”
Taylor also serves on the boards of the University of Miami, Jobs for America's Graduates and the American Red Cross and is an adviser to Safe Streets & Second Chances.
For more information about SHRM’s efforts on workforce readiness, visit SHRM’s Workforce Readiness
Resource Page; a
We Are Work conversation starter on closing the skills gap; and
research on the skills shortages.
MEDIA: For more information or to schedule an interview with CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., please contact Kate Kennedy at 703-535-6260 and
Kate.kennedy@shrm.org or Kennedy Barba at 703-535-6472 and
Kennedy.barba@shrm.org.
Society for Human Resource Management
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest HR professional society, representing 300,000 members in more than 165 countries who impact the lives of 115 million workers every day. For nearly seven decades, the Society has been the leading provider of resources serving the needs of HR professionals and advancing the practice of human resource management. SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China, India and United Arab Emirates. Visit us at shrm.org and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @SHRMPress.
