Opening Plenary | Meeting the Moment
2020 Global Conference
This session will open with a conversation with Eugene Scalia, Secretary, US Department of Labor, followed by a panel discussion.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated job displacement and unemployment trends initiated by advances in technology and automation. Moreover, new and emerging forces making an impact on the workforce exacerbate pre-existing social inequities embedded in the pre-COVID economic landscape. Yet the fundamental dynamics reshaping the nature of work remain unchanged, as the "new normal" presents an opportunity to recalibrate traditional workforce development models aligned with systems that recognize the long-term ROI of investment in talent, skills, and people—resulting in enhanced opportunity and social prosperity. This session will focus on cross-industry, public- and private-sector training, employment pathways, and education partnerships that help facilitate economic mobility in a rapidly changing workforce landscape. Leaders must work toward facilitating an adaptable education system that provides competency-based curricula aligned to critical workforce needs.
Eugene Scalia
Secretary, US Department of Labor
Kerry Healey
President, Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream
Sarita Gupta
Director, Future of Work(ers), Ford Foundation
Steve Isakowitz
President and CEO, The Aerospace Corporation
Vivienne Ming
Co-Founder and Executive Chair, Socos Labs
Eloy Ortiz Oakley
Chancellor, California Community Colleges
Jane Oates
President, WorkingNation