The Biden administration will roll out workforce hubs in the coming months. This is part of their effort to meet the labor needs driven by infrastructure and manufacturing investment.
The hubs will emerge in a number of states that are also key battlegrounds in 2024, including Arizona, Georgia and Ohio.
The hubs aim to “ensure a diverse and skilled workforce” through apprenticeship programs and in partnership with state and local officials, employers, unions, community colleges, high schools and other stakeholders.
The first hubs will open this summer in Phoenix, Arizona. Columbus, OH; Baltimore, Maryland; Augusta, Georgia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The regions are places where the government says it has seen significant investment in specific industries — for example, in Phoenix for the semiconductor industry and in Augusta for the solar and electric vehicle industries, a senior administration official said.
The government says it is establishing hubs to help find workers needed under other legislation it has lobbied for, including the bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act and the COVID-19 relief package. Officials said all of these laws created a demand for labor.
The government plans to use the first five cities as models to replicate across the country, officials said, but gave no preview of which other states could serve as hubs next.
Officials said the hubs would not need any new federal funding.
The government also announced that it would start a “workforce sprint” for advanced manufacturing jobs, including semiconductors, clean energy and medicine. The focus is on occupations that do not require a four-year college degree and aims to expand apprenticeships and training.
First Lady Jill Biden will highlight the announcements Tuesday during her address at the Labor Department’s National Workforce Convening Vision 2030.
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