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SHRM E2 Initiative: The Education-To-Employment Pipeline

Fixing America's Leaky, Broken, and Busted Talent Pipeline

The U.S. talent pipeline — from classrooms to careers — is broken, leaky, and busted. Our education and talent development systems are not keeping up with the demands of rapid innovation. The impacts are felt throughout the U.S. workforce and greater economy. Too many students are graduating without the requisite skills they need to get a job, continue to advance in their careers, and close the workforce participation gap. At the same time, millions of skilled individuals remain on the sidelines — overlooked, underutilized, or disconnected from opportunity.

  • Overview
  • Awareness
  • Advocacy
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SHRM's Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. Testifies Before Congress on Workforce Preparedness

SHRM President and CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. began this conversation during the first hearing of the 119th Congress as he testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and posed a powerful question: “Imagine what we could be if we unleashed the power of talent?”

SHRM’s E2 Initiative is tackling the U.S.’s broken, leaky, and busted talent pipeline by connecting education to employment across three key pathways: K-12 education, higher education, and untapped talent. This is a collaborative effort. No one sector, no one stakeholder, no one organization can do this alone. We have to work together — across traditional boundaries — because our challenges are interconnected, and our solutions must be as well.

People do not live, learn, or work in silos — and we can’t afford to operate in them either.

“Imagine what we could be if we unleashed the power of talent?”

Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.
SHRM President and CEO



SHRM seeks to be the connective tissue that repairs the workforce pipelines between learning, work, and opportunity. And we’re doing it by increasing awareness, advocacy, and action.

Awareness

Raising awareness to make the gaps known and lift up what works.

Use your voice — backed by SHRM data — to highlight the disconnect between education and workforce readiness, spotlight effective solutions, and share best practices for connecting overlooked talent to in-demand jobs through strategic partnerships and public investment.

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Advocacy

Advocating with bold purpose to promote policies that drive outcomes.

Stay informed with SHRM’s Policy Briefing and find opportunities to engage with policymakers. Support efforts to expand access to education and upskilling, and elevate your voice through Capitol Hill Days, grassroots campaigns, or community conversations on education-to-employment pathways.

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Action

Acting through sustained, cross-sector efforts to create a better world of work for all.

Strengthen your community’s talent pipeline by partnering with local schools or workforce boards. Launch or expand work-based learning programs to tap into new talent. Share your success with SHRM to help amplify and scale effective solutions nationwide.

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Ready to share your story and join the effort?

Register to Help Repair America’s Talent Pipelines Today!

Broken, Leaky and Busted

To build smarter, stronger bridges between the systems that shape our workforce, E² will work to better connect K–12 classrooms to career pathways, align higher education institutions with the evolving job market, and ensure untapped talent has equitable access to inclusive employment opportunities.

Fixing the education-to-employment pipeline requires coordination among all stakeholders. Despite the challenges, our system remains the best in the world. To explore the challenges, opportunities, priorities, and what’s working across each key pipeline, download SHRM’s resource here.

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johnny c. taylor headshot

We have seen drastic changes in the employment market, but the reality is it does nothing to erase the underlying skills gap. In fact, it may exacerbate the skills gap in the long term. We need to continue to forge a better alliance between education and employment, invest in workforce training and open our recruiting efforts to nontraditional pools of talent.

Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President and CEO

SHRM

Top News

SHRM Oklahoma Becomes First State Council to Join E² Initiative

SHRM Oklahoma joins the effort to strengthen education-to-employment pathways and improve workforce outcomes across the country.

HR’s Role in Fixing the Education-to-Employment Pipeline

Explore how HR leaders can address skills gaps, foster education-industry partnerships, and advocate for reforms to align workforce readiness with employer needs.

How to Fix the ‘Broken’ Entry-Level Employee Pipeline

Entry-level workers are less prepared for the workforce today compared with five years ago, a survey finds. Employers must prioritize onboarding and training.

Workers discuss problem.
The State of the Global Worker: Who Do They Trust to Create Change?

Explore the various aspects of global workers’ well-being and discover who they trust to create change in the workplace and in their quality of life. 

SHRM Comments on AI Literacy, Workforce Preparedness in Grant Programs

SHRM urges the U.S. Department of Education to prioritize AI literacy, workforce readiness, and public-private partnerships in federal education initiatives.

Join us today—subscribe to SHRM’s newsletters to stay informed and visit SHRM’s advocacy website to learn how you can get involved.

Subscribe to SHRM’s Free Newsletters

Visit SHRM’s Advocacy Website

Join E2 Today

Contact SHRM Government Affairs at governmentaffairs@shrm.org to learn more.

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