SHRM Takes Education-to-Employment Conversation Global

SHRM brought its E² Initiative on Education-to-Employment to the global stage during United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week in New York City, convening leaders from employers, higher education, workforce organizations, youth-serving organizations, and international institutions to discuss how stronger partnerships can better connect education to meaningful employment.

The E² Global Roundtable focused on a challenge increasingly shared across countries and industries: People are investing in education and training while employers continue to face difficulty finding workers with the skills they need. At the same time, artificial intelligence and other workplace changes are accelerating shifts in jobs and skills, increasing the need for education and workforce systems to keep pace.

“Employers cannot simply wait for talent to arrive,” said Emily M. Dickens, SHRM Chief Administrative Officer. “They have an opportunity to engage earlier, work across sectors, and help ensure that education and skills development are better connected to the realities of the workplace.”

That need is reflected in SHRM research. Sixty percent of HR professionals say organizations have a responsibility to serve as a bridge between education systems and workforce needs. Yet only 36% of organizations currently partner with local workforce initiatives, and 39% currently engage in efforts to strengthen experiential learning.

The roundtable connected that employer perspective with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Quality Education (SDG 4), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10), and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17). Together, those goals underscore the connection between education, economic opportunity, meaningful work, and cross-sector collaboration.

For SHRM, the discussion also marked an expansion of a conversation that began domestically. Through E², SHRM is bringing employers, educators, workforce organizations and policymakers together around three priorities: Awareness, Advocacy, and Action. — identifying gaps across the education-to-employment pipeline, advancing solutions that better connect education with workforce needs, and turning those conversations into practical partnerships.

As jobs and skills continue to change, strengthening the path from learning to work will require more than any one sector can deliver alone. Employers and HR professionals have an opportunity to help shape that connection earlier, bringing workforce needs into conversations about education, skills development and the future of work.