1 Ready to Work Competitive Grants to Support the Long-Term Unemployed. Efforts by outside partners to scale successful practices will improve regional partnerships and build on the increased work to train the long-term unemployed catalyzed by DOL’s grants. As announced in January, DOL will award 25-30 grants in October to replicate innovative partnerships among employers and non-profits in communities across the country to prepare and place the long-term unemployed into good jobs. In June, DOL awarded $155 million to 34 states to expand promising public-private partnerships that serve long-term unemployed dislocated workers. For example, Nevada is partnering with the WorkPlace to implement the Platform to Employment program targeted at long-term unemployed jobseekers in the Las Vegas and Reno metropolitan areas. Ensuring Federal Policies Support Hiring of the Long-Term Unemployed. The President used his executive authority to sign a Presidential Memorandum to make sure that individuals who are unemployed or have faced financial difficulties through no fault of their own receive fair treatment and consideration for employment by federal agencies. Upskilling America: From Dead-End Jobs to Apprenticeships and Middle-Class Career Paths There should be no dead-end jobs in America. A mom working 40 hours per week at $11 dollars per hour with no path to advancement should not have to find a second job for 20 more hours to support her family. Instead of a second job, why can’t she use those extra hours to learn to do a $20 an hour job? Low-wage, entry-level jobs should be stepping stones to robust career pathways into the middle class. Whether through Registered Apprenticeships or other forms of on-the-job training, every American worker who starts in a low-wage job should have the opportunity to gain the foundational and functional job skills needed to earn more and progress as they learn and contribute more. For example, approximately 24 million working Americans have low literacy skills, and nearly double 19 that number struggle with numeracy. There are emerging career ladders for entry-level workers who have access to the right educational content and receive some on the job training. For example, this Burning Glass Technologies analysis shows upward opportunities for Retail Sales Associates and for Retail Supervisors based on common transitions observed in the job market.20 Retail Supervisors develop a diverse skill set that includes sales and customer service, management, administration and accounting, logistics, and security. Upward pathways can leverage any of these skills. 19 Internal calculations based on OECD, Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (2013). 20 Methodology: Transition pathways are based on the frequency of career transitions observed in millions of resumes and analysis of skill requirements in Burning Glass’s proprietary database of >100M online job postings. Wage data reflect the median hourly wage for the related SOC code. 20