File photo of Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA-17) at work in his office. (MikeHonda.com)

Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA-17) and Deputy Secretary of Labor Chris Lu met with business, technology and community leaders from Silicon Valley to discuss President Obama’s Upskill America initiative, in San Jose, Mar. 27. This initiative is a new public-private effort to help hard-working Americans bridge the significant diversity, income, and skills gap that exist in our work force. A Siliconeer report.

Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA-17) and Deputy Secretary of Labor Chris Lu met with business, technology and community leaders from Silicon Valley to discuss President Obama’s Upskill America initiative, in San Jose, Mar. 27. This initiative is a new public-private effort to help hard-working Americans bridge the significant diversity, income, and skills gap that exist in our work force.

“I’m standing with leaders like President Obama and Secretary Lu to call on businesses across the country to Upskill America,” said Congressman Honda. “In this new economy, we are all going to have to stand together to help workers of all backgrounds advance their skills to earn a shot at better, higher paying jobs. As the tech sector continues to drive our innovation economy, we want to make sure that everyone has a chance to participate, and that we are properly training our future workers.”

Attendees of the roundtable included Apple, LinkedIn, Brocade, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and other business and community groups.

Participants of the discussion agreed that increasing access to apprenticeships and skills training programs are integral to helping low-wage and entry-level jobs across the country into stepping-stones to the middle class.

“America has five million jobs open today and more than half a million of those jobs are in information technology. Registered Apprenticeships offer a solid return on investment by building a pipeline of skilled workers to maintain and expand our competitive edge across a range of industries that rely on IT,” said Deputy Secretary of Labor Christopher P. Lu. “Today’s roundtable with Rep. Honda and Silicon Valley business leaders brings up one step closer to ensuring that all workers receive the training and skills necessary to meet demands of today’s economy.”

“Upgrading the skills of our workers will help create a more dynamic and diverse workforce not only in Silicon Valley but also across the United States. Workers who play by the rules and work hard deserve a fair shot at the American Dream ” added Congressman Honda.

Interested readers can learn more at http://www.upskillamerica.org/.