Building A More Responsive Workforce System

In the Hardly Working episode, “The Building Blocks of the Federal Workforce System,” Brent Orrell and I discuss the history and efficacy of the federal employment and training system. We outline inefficiencies in the current system stemming from decades of piecemeal reform efforts and a rapidly-changing economy, and propose adjustments to better serve workers.

Although we recorded this podcast before the COVID-19 outbreak, its insights are particularly relevant today. The workforce system is unprepared for a coming wave of millions of unemployed workers looking for new skills and jobs.