Jobs Rebuild America: More Than a Slogan

President & CEO, National Urban League

“Jobs Rebuild America” is more than a campaign slogan.  It is a declaration that is at the heart of the everyday work of the Urban League Movement and what we believe is the key to successfully addressing the expanding challenge of economic and income inequality in our nation.

When we launched our Jobs Rebuild America initiative in May 2013, we included a robust portfolio of our Workforce programs among the components, including several National Urban League signature programs such as our Urban Youth Empowerment Program (UYEP), College Bound, Adult Re-entry, and Mature Workers.  Since then, we have launched two new federal employment and training programs, as well as privately funded employer-driven training, and have continued to enroll participants from cities across the country in the employment programs.

In addition, last July, we launched a new program called “Adult Re-entry: Training to Work,” which targets adults with felony convictions who are currently in a local work release program.  The primary goal of Training to Work is to connect ex-offenders to GEDs and industry-recognized certifications in high-growth industry sectors.  While employment is the ultimate goal of this program, the model clearly emphasizes the importance of connecting this constituency with credentials as a pathway to longer-term and higher-waged career goals.

Jobs that pay living wages – for all Americans – are critical to shift our economic recovery from one of fragility to fortitude.  We launched Jobs Rebuild America last year as a public-private-nonprofit, $100 million, 50-community, five-year effort.  But we are committed to whatever it takes – however long it takes – to bridge the great divide of economic inequality in America.

Read more Jobs Rebuild America updates from our Workforce department by clicking the link below.