The network brought together state and community college leaders with workforce and industry partners to collaboratively identify and scale strategies to give workers the skills necessary to succeed in an economy reshaped by the pandemic.
Strategies to Help Workers Succeed in a Post-Pandemic Economy
COVID-19 and measures taken to limit the transmission of the coronavirus, including widespread business closures, led to millions of jobs lost in the United States. The national unemployment rate increased from 3.8 percent in February to 11.1 percent in June.
The downturn disproportionately affected workers in low-wage jobs, who are concentrated in service-sector jobs that do not lend themselves to telework. Women and communities of color also bore disproportionate impacts. The Reskilling and Recovery Network, which ran from July 2020 through January 2021, sought to address these equity disparities.
Through the network, participating states:
- Engaged with a collaborative network of like-minded state leaders to strategize economic and workforce recovery on a regular basis;
- Received early access to innovative tools designed by peers in the field and be paired with experts engaged by the NGA Center and AACC, and
- Accessed technical assistance including webinars, facilitated peer-to-peer learning, virtual state site visits and more.
- Re-engaged employers in partnering with community colleges to train and hire new employees, prioritizing jobs that pay a living wage or more.
Resources & Publications
Understanding Quality: The Role of States in Supporting Quality Non-Degree Credentials
Participating States
Webinar Series
View the playlist for our webinar series, or click on individual topics which include:
- Adult Basic Education, featuring the Coalition on Adult Basic Education | Sept 2, 2020
- Data Inputs, featuring LinkedIn and Strada Education Network | Sept 16, 2020
- Public-Private Partnerships, featuring Intel Corporation, Maricopa Community Colleges, and Walmart | Sept 30, 2020
- CTE in Recovery, featuring Advance CTE | October 14, 2020
- Broadband Access and Affordability, featuring NGA Infrastructure | October 28, 2020
- Veterans in Reskilling, featuring Veterans Education Success and Ohio Department of Education | November 11, 2020
The Reskilling and Recovery Network was a partnership between the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the American Association of Community Colleges, with support from Lumina Foundation and the Siemens Foundation.
