ADM HR Chief Says EEOC Can Help Address National Shortage of Skilled Labor
April 05 2017 - 2:00PM
Business Wire
- At panel on the future of work, Michael
D’Ambrose calls for a single, cohesive strategy for workforce
development
- Millions of manufacturing jobs will go
unfilled without decisive action, he says
The U.S. public and private sectors must collaborate to ensure
the nation is producing enough skilled workers to meet the needs of
its manufacturing sector, according to Michael D’Ambrose, senior
vice president and chief human resources officer at Archer Daniels
Midland Company (NYSE: ADM.)
Testifying before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission at
a panel discussion on the future of work and the U.S. workforce,
D’Ambrose said that companies like ADM were already having trouble
filling key positions.
“ADM already has hundreds of good-paying jobs we can’t fill
because there aren’t enough skilled workers available to us,” he
told the commissioners. “And we’re not alone.” He noted that the
U.S. Department of Agriculture has projected that within a few
years, there won’t be enough graduates in fields related to food
and agriculture to fill the sector’s roughly 60,000 annual
vacancies.
D’Ambrose said the lack of qualified candidates was largely the
product of an education system that isn’t generating enough
job-ready workers. And that failure, he added, reflects a society
that places a high value on college education and views skilled
trades as lesser pursuits.
“Our educational system needs to put a greater premium on
turning out skilled, job-ready workers. And a big part of that
challenge involves changing Americans’ perceptions of the value of
skilled tradespeople,” D’Ambrose said. “A skilled tradesperson can
earn a great salary—and live a great life—doing fulfilling work
that employers value and reward.”
He concluded by suggesting that the EEOC take an active role in
developing a nationwide workforce-development strategy.
“The EEOC’s ability to marshal resources to strengthen the
linkages between school and work would be invaluable,” D’Ambrose
said. “We at ADM would welcome the chance to partner with the
Commission and with companies in other industries to help build the
diverse pool of talent our country needs. And we believe our peers
in other industries would be equally excited about the
opportunity.”
About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland
Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve
the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s
largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with
approximately 32,000 employees serving customers in more than 160
countries. With a global value chain that includes approximately
500 crop procurement locations, 250 ingredient manufacturing
facilities, 38 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop
transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making
products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Learn
more at www.adm.com.
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Archer Daniels Midland CompanyMedia
RelationsJackie Andersonmedia@adm.com312-634-8484
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