Emmer Holds Summit to Find Solutions to the Skills Gap Crisis

Press Release:

August 3, 2017

Otsego, MN – Yesterday, Congressman Tom Emmer (MN-06) held an "Addressing the Skills Gap Summit" with educators, business owners and community leaders to discuss potential solutions to the skills gap crisis facing Minnesota, and the nation as a whole.

In his time representing Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District, Emmer has toured many educational institutions to learn all about the incredible career and technical programs offered. Additionally, he has met with many business owners, school leaders, and representatives from different industries to learn about the devastating impact the skills gap is having on our economy and workforce. These tours and meetings inspired Congressman Emmer to hold a summit intended to advance partnerships that will work to address our workforce shortages.

"One of the biggest falsehoods that we as a society are telling the generation of tomorrow is that they must attend a four-year university if they expect to thrive and prosper," said Emmer. "This well-intended, but misinformed, advice has actually had the opposite effect, leaving many critical jobs unfilled and numerous Americans without the career skills that they need in order to drive our economy forward. We held this summit to address these concerns, and cultivate a conversation with the stakeholders who are – and must be – most involved in finding solutions. After listening to the different conversations and suggestions put forth, I am optimistic that we are well on our way to fixing this problem so we can get our workforce and economy back on track."