Last month, UNITE-LA was present at the National Skills Coalition’s (NSC) Skills Summit, which is NSC’s largest event of the year bringing together workforce and business advocates from across the country to Washington, D.C.

The summit was an opportunity to learn about critical federal skills policy. Additionally, this was also an opportunity to meet with our legislators on Capitol Hill and members of the Biden Administration to influence the direction of federal skills policy by sharing expertise. A meeting was held with the Department of Labor (DOL) where we discussed the key role DOL plays in creating an inclusive economy and the importance of continuing to center racial equity and marginalized workers in policy, particularly in the cost of training. We also noted the importance of continuing to invest in industry or sector partnerships, and the need to support data collection and reporting that allows workers, businesses and policymakers to measure an equitable impact of public investments in training programs.