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U.S. NEWS Friday 24 February 2017
US factory CEOs to Trump: Jobs exist; skills don’t

CHRIS S. RUGABER 500 if enough were quali-
AP Economics Writer fied. But he said that in his
WASHINGTON (AP) — experience, most students
President Donald Trump coming out of high school
brought two dozen man- lack the math and English
ufacturing CEOs to the skills to absorb technical
White House on Thursday manuals.
and declared their collec- Some economists argue
tive commitment to restor- that businesses should of-
ing factory jobs lost to for- fer higher pay and adopt
eign competition. more training if they can’t
Yet some of the CEOs sug- find the workers they need.
gested that there were Higher pay would draw
still plenty of openings more young people into
for U.S. factory jobs but the field.
too few qualified people In the meantime, some
to fill them. They urged the data supports the CEOs’
White House to support concerns about the short-
vocational training for the age of qualified appli-
high-tech skills that today’s
manufacturers increasingly cants. Government figures
require — a topic Trump show there are 324,000
has seldom addressed. President Donald Trump welcomes manufacturing executives to a meeting at the White House open factory jobs nation-
“The jobs are there, but the in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. From left are, Archer Daniels Midland CEO Juan Luciano, wide — triple the number
skills are not,” one execu- White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner, Trump, and Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier. in 2009, during the depths
tive said during meetings (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) of the recession.q
with White House officials meetings were intended
that preceded a session to provide the White House
with the president. (Report- with ideas in four areas:
ers were permitted to at- taxes and trade; regulatory
tend the meetings on the reform; infrastructure; and
condition of not quoting the “workforce of the fu-
individual executives by ture,” including advanced
name.) training.
The discussion of job train- The gathering occurred
ing and worker skills is a rel- amid the same kind of jo-
atively new one for Trump, vially informal atmosphere
who campaigned for the that has prevailed in sever-
White House on promises al meetings Trump has held
to restore manufacturing with CEOs in the four weeks
jobs that he said had been since his inauguration. Most
lost to flawed trade deals of the executives thanked
and unfair competition the president for reaching
from countries like Mexico out to them, and several
and China. expressed gratitude for his
Again and again, Trump interest in meeting them
brought up that theme in face to face.
his meeting with the CEOs. “All the CEOs are very en-
“Everything is going to be couraged by the pro-busi-
based on bringing our jobs ness policies of President
back,” Trump said. “The Trump,” Andrew Liveris,
good jobs, the real jobs. CEO of Dow Chemical,
They’ve left.” said afterward outside
White House officials said the White House. “Some
Trump heard the CEOs’ of us have said this is prob-
concerns about a short- ably the most pro-business
age of qualified workers administration since the
and said he supports ef- Founding Fathers.”
forts to increase training Other CEOs at the meet-
for factory jobs. But they ing included Jeff Immelt
didn’t provide details. of General Electric, Doug
“We were challenged by Oberhelman of Caterpillar,
the president to ... come Inge Thulin of 3M and De-
up with a program to nise Morrison of Campbell
make sure the American Soup.
worker is trained for the One executive said in dis-
manufacturing jobs of to- cussions with White House
morrow,” Reed Cordish, a officials that his company
White House official, said has 50 participants in a
after Thursday’s meetings. factory apprenticeship
Trump officials said the program, but could take