Job Creation and Skills Training Should Be a Priority this Election

Goodwill knows all too well the various employment challenges that many Americans face.  As the election season heats up, voters want candidates to focus on getting people back to work.  A recent poll conducted by Glassdoor, an online jobs and career firm found two-thirds of respondents believe this should be a top priority of the presidential candidates.

Unfortunately, the results showed a disparity between the desire to reducing unemployment and the need for providing new skills training for the unemployed.  Only 38 percent of those responding indicated job training should be a priority, making it one of the least popular options. One may also assume from these findings that Americans need to be further educated on the unemployment rate and the reasons why people are unemployed. 

More than 4 million people benefited from Goodwill job-training and community based services last year.  Some of those individuals have a disability or disadvantage while others may have been in a position of being laid off after 30 years on a job or have to learn a new skill set after years of working in the same career. 

Other priorities for those polled and the percentage of respondents showing support include:

• Creating jobs in the private sector (45 percent)
• Incentives for small business and entrepreneurs (45 percent)
• Increase income tax for those making more than $250,000 per year (42 percent)
• Help getting military veterans back to work (40 percent)
• Supporting American innovations (40 percent)
• Creating jobs in the public sector (38 percent)

As an human services provider providing over 200,000 supports and services, a nonprofit earning the trust of 79 million donors, and an employer of over 105,000 individuals – Goodwill’s public policy and legislative agenda reflects each of these priorities.