Skills matter, but what matters more is who gets the skills and who gets left behind

Livia Lam and Daniella Zessoules explain how—given the changing nature of American jobs—universal, equitable workforce development is more important than ever.

For a long time, the conventional wisdom has been that, if you aren’t working it’s because you don’t have the skills that employers need. But that explanation is oversimplified and incomplete.

Recent research shows that the story that was told about a mismatch in skills was really a story about how employers could be choosier when there were so many people desperate for work.

With the unemployment rate now below 4%, we have a greater understanding of how structural biases in job training as well as in hiring are keeping many people from working, or from getting the training that would develop their abilities and let them benefit from a healthier job market.

The above excerpt was originally published in MarketWatch. Click here to view the full article.

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