Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 195 / Friday, October 8, 2010 / Presidential Documents 62309 

Memorandum of October 4, 2010 

Establishing a Task Force on Skills for America’s Future 

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies 

In order to compete in the global economy, the United States needs the 

most educated workforce in the world. The high-wage jobs of the 21st 

century will require more knowledge and skills than the jobs of the past. 

We therefore must develop innovative strategies to train more Americans 

with the skills that businesses and the economy will need to ensure American 

competitiveness. 

Community colleges are a key part of our education system, providing a 

flexible and affordable place to sharpen relevant workforce skills and align 

them with the needs of employers in their communities. Traditional fouryear colleges, on-line institutions, and nontraditional educational outlets 

also can play an essential role in providing training opportunities. To prepare 

students for 21st-century jobs, these institutions need to develop flexible, 

affordable, and responsive training programs that meet regional and national 

economic needs. An important way to ensure that training programs meet 

such needs is through partnerships between these institutions and labor 

unions, small businesses, and other regional employers. As educational institutions develop these innovative programs, we should assess what works 

and what does not, so that we reward excellent outcomes and true innovation 

that meets the needs of entrepreneurs and other employers in every part 

of the country, from rural communities to urban centers. 

Therefore, I am establishing a task force to develop skills for America’s 

future by identifying, developing, and increasing the scale of promising 

approaches to improving the skills of our Nation’s workers. By coordinating 

the work of relevant agencies with that of nonprofits, labor unions, and 

private sector organizations, and by leveraging the assets of these entities, 

this effort will build better partnerships between businesses, community 

colleges, and other training providers to get Americans trained for the jobs 

of today and tomorrow. 

Section 1. Establishment. There is established an interagency Task Force 

on Skills for America’s Future (Task Force) to ensure that Federal policies 

promote innovative training programs and curricula, including successful 

public-private partnerships, at community colleges as well as in other settings, that will prepare the American workforce for 21st-century jobs. The 

Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, the Assistant to the President 

for Economic Policy, and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy 

shall serve as Co-Chairs of the Task Force. 

Sec. 2. Membership. In addition to the Co-Chairs, the Task Force shall 

consist of the following members, or any senior official designated by one 

of the following members who is a part of the member’s department, agency, 

or office, and who is a full time employee of the Federal Government: 

(a) the Secretary of Defense; 

(b) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

(c) the Secretary of Commerce; 

(d) the Secretary of Labor; 

(e) the Secretary of Health and Human Services; 


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62310 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 195 / Friday, October 8, 2010 / Presidential Documents 

(f) the Secretary of Transportation; 

(g) the Secretary of Energy; 

(h) the Secretary of Education; 

(i) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; 

(j) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget; 

(k) the Administrator of the Small Business Administration; 

(l) the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy; and 

(m) the heads of other executive departments, agencies, or offices as the 

Co-Chairs may designate. 

Sec. 3. Administration. The Council of Economic Advisers shall provide 

administrative support for the Task Force to the extent permitted by law 

and within existing appropriations. 

Sec. 4. Mission and Functions. The Task Force shall work across executive 

departments and agencies to ensure that Federal policies facilitate, and 

offer incentives for, innovative career-training and education opportunities 

at community colleges as well as in other settings, and that these opportunities are directly related to skills and job requirements across a range of 

industries. Using the best evidence available regarding effective practice, 

the Task Force shall develop recommendations and options for meeting 

the following objectives: 

(a) improved public-private collaboration to develop career pathway and 

training programs with effective curricula, certifiable skills, and industryrecognized credentials and degrees; 

(b) identification of opportunities to amplify, accelerate, or increase the 

scale of, successful public-private partnerships that match trained workers 

with prospective employers; 

(c) identification and development of stackable credentials that provide 

entry to and advancement along a career pathway in an in-demand occupation; 

(d) outreach to relevant stakeholders—including industry, the adult workforce, younger students, educational institutions, labor unions, policymakers, 

and community leaders—with expertise in skill development; 

(e) alignment of workforce training programs funded by the Departments 

of Education and Labor, as well as other Federal agencies, with innovative 

practices and regional market demands, to build on effective skills-based 

training for adult workers and younger students, including individuals with 

disabilities; 

(f) partnership with appropriate non-profit entities to engage the private 

sector in developing effective training programs that provide students with 

recognizable and portable skills that are needed in the marketplace; and 

(g) greater use of technology to improve training, skills assessment, and 

labor market information. 

Sec. 5. General Provisions. 

(a) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable 

law and subject to the availability of any necessary appropriations. 

(b) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right 

or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by 

any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, 

its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. 

(c) The heads of executive departments and agencies shall assist and 

provide information to the Task Force, consistent with applicable law, as 

may be necessary to carry out the functions of the Task Force. Each executive 

department, agency, and office shall bear its own expenses of participating 

in the Task Force. 


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(d) The Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers is hereby authorized 

and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register. 

THE WHITE HOUSE, 

Washington, October 4, 2010 

[FR Doc. 2010–25579 

Filed 10–7–10; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3195–W1–P 


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