The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Center for Workforce and Economic Opportunity is partnering with other organizations to launch the Rework America Alliance in 2020, a nationwide training initiative to move unemployed and underemployed workers into in-demand jobs.
“‘Unprecedented’ is probably not a strong enough word to describe the current economic conditions in the country,” an announcement from the bank said. “Since March, tens of millions of workers have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Many Americans will find that if their jobs do come back, they will require new skills due to a digital economy that has been accelerated in recent months, says information from the alliance. Women and communities of color have been hardest hit. And the new program will work particularly with them.
Atlanta Federal Bank president and CEO Raphael Bostic has said there is a moral and economic imperative to address the effects of racism and disparities. The programs to be developed will require some new ideas, he said.
The alliance will gather labor-market and job-opportunity information. It will work with nonprofit partners such as the Markle Foundation and businesses such as Google to develop training programs and coaching to prepare workers for high-quality jobs and move them into employment. Prototyped programs that work can be recreated in other places.
The announcement says the programs will begin in the fall.
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