Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on the day's biggest business stories
Subscribe to Axios Closer for insights into the day’s business news and trends and why they matter
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Ivanka Trump speaks at a cabinet meeting at the White House. Photo: Olivier Douliery, Pool/Getty Images
Unveiling a "Pledge to America's Workers," President Trump today will launch a White House effort to promote high-tech retraining for workers — preparation for a workplace that'll increasingly be dominated by data and automation.
Why it matters: Workers, particularly in parts of the industrial Midwest where Trump is strong, are rightly worried about the threat to jobs from robots and automation.
- This is an effort by the White House to use Trump's bully pulpit to push companies to help their employees deal with job insecurity. Governors, mayors and business groups will also be enlisted.
A key goal is retraining workers so they can fill data-economy jobs that are created in their current workplaces, rather than being laid off.
- Ivanka Trump, who led Trump's Domestic Policy Council in developing the plan, told reporters: "We will be taking this effort outside of D.C. and into classrooms, communities, and businesses in the coming weeks, months, and years."
The White House said Trump will sign an executive order in the East Room, joined by executives from IBM, FedEx and Lockheed Martin and other corporations.
- The pledge will commit employers to expanding apprenticeships and increasing on-the-job training to help Americans, from high schoolers to retirees, secure stable jobs and careers in the modern economy.
- Ivanka Trump said the corporate pledges announced today "will represent new commitments to students and to their existing workers," expanding current programs and creating new ones.
The idea was inspired partly by the Giving Pledge, created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, to encourage billionaires to give more than half of their wealth away.
- P.S. Wilbur Ross and Ivanka Trump co-hosted a dinner last night to highlight the White House's new workforce endeavor, at Ross’ house in D.C. Guests included Jared Kushner; Ross’ chief of staff, Wendy Teramoto; OMB Director Mick Mulvaney; and top executives of Lockheed Martin, UPS and FedEx.