“Why does Merit America focus on upskilling for frontline workers?
Diemand-Yauman: The largest section of the labor market is stagnant. We have over 53 million adults in this country who are stuck in low-wage work with no real pathway out. This is a problem because these are individuals who could be contributing so much to the economy, to our national competitiveness, prosperity, and security. When they can’t move, we are missing out on that opportunity as a country. We have this unbelievably valuable, untapped, natural resource that’s sitting below the soil that we are refusing to mine, and we are unable to access it until we create better pathways to upwardly mobile work.
Taber Staehelin: We have in America a higher-ed and workforce system that is designed predominantly for people who can do full-time immersive learning. If that system doesn’t work out for you, if you get failed by higher education and you end up in a low-wage job, it is very hard without quitting that job and going back to full-time, immersive learning to work your way into a better career and ultimately the middle class. So we see this massive population that isn’t being served by our current system because they’re working but not making a living wage. At the same time, when you look at where the economy is going and where the job openings are, our belief is if you can get those folks into high-demand, upwardly mobile roles, you not just fill employer’s needs, but you also clear out that first rung of work that could be a good entry point for people who are unemployed. By not having a system that works for that group, we’re not just hurting that group, we’re hurting employers, we’re hurting that group and we’re hurting folks who are unemployed.”