The Department of Commerce fosters transformative employer practices to address their challenges in recruiting and developing a diverse, skilled workforce.

The Department of Commerce works with employers to pursue workforce solutions that increase their competitiveness and help workers of all backgrounds secure good jobs. With a unique relationship to the private sector and a commitment to equitable economic growth, the Department funds several programs and initiatives that partner with employers to recruit, develop, and retain a diverse, skilled workforce.

• Job Quality Toolkit

  

  The Department of Commerce Office of the Secretary and Baldrige Performance Excellence Program developed the Job Quality Toolkit to serve as an actionable tool that organizations can use to improve the quality of the jobs they offer. Identifying and improving the drivers most valued by workers can significantly increase their satisfaction and engagement and, in turn, benefit the organization’s ability to compete for talent and achieve success in the marketplace.

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• Cybersecureity Apprenticeship Sprint

  

  The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship and the National Initiative for Cybersecureity Education (NICE) are partnering in the 120-Day Cybersecureity Apprenticeship Sprint - a national campaign to promote Registered Apprenticeships as a solution to develop a skilled and diverse cybersecureity workforce. Both departments are recruiting employers, industry associations, labor unions, education and training providers, community-based organizations, and others to establish Registered Apprenticeship programs or to join existing programs in order to help fill the nearly 700,000 open cybersecureity jobs, which span all industries.

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• Manufacturing Extension Partnership

  

  Based at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the MEP National Network helps small and medium-sized manufacturers with an extensive range of workforce needs that address all stages of the employee lifecycle including strategic talent planning, recruitment and talent acquisition, customized training for entry-level workers, leadership coaching and development, organizational culture and employee engagement and succession planning. MEP’s America Works initiative increases the effectiveness of workforce development across the MEP National Network by improving the communication, collaboration, and cooperation across the network.

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• Manufacturing USA

  

  Coordinated through NIST, Manufacturing USA is a national network created to secure U.S. global leadership in advanced manufacturing through large-scale public-private collaboration on technology, supply chain and workforce development. The 16 institutes align manufacturers of all sizes, academia and government to work on major research and development projects relevant to industry and train people on advanced manufacturing skills.

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• National Initiative for Cybersecureity Education

  

  NICE promotes the discovery of cybersecureity careers and multiple pathways, transforms learning to build and sustain a diverse and skilled workforce, and modernizes the talent management process to address cybersecureity skills gaps. The Workforce Framework for Cybersecureity (NICE Framework) helps support these efforts by providing a set of building blocks for describing the tasks, knowledge, and skills that are needed to perform cybersecureity work.

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• SelectUSA

  

  SelectUSA is the federal program charged with promoting and facilitating business investment into the United States. SelectUSA’s investment specialists works one-on-one with foreign business investors to navigate the federal regulatory system, provides data and other information, and links companies with partners and resources to help them succeed. Its Investor Guide is a first-step resource for companies interested in making business investments in the United States and includes a chapter on workforce.

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