Scott joins National League of Cities to Highlight Need for Workforce Development

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), the Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, hosted a policy briefing in coordination with the National League of Cities (NLC) on their recent report "The Future of Work in Cities." The policy discussion highlighted strategies that can provide support to cities and the economic impacts of workforce development at the federal level.

The briefing included testimony from Dr. Patricia P. Woodbury, Councilmember, Newport News, Virginia. A South Hampton native, Dr. Woodbury has a long history of supporting workforce development programs that increase the employability of citizens within Newport News. Her on-the-ground experience provided an in-depth analysis on the trends and real-world implications of workforce development.

"Investing in our workforce is now more important than ever," said Rep. Scott. "The technological innovations that make our day-to-day lives easier also present a challenge to maintaining job growth in our cities. Driverless cars and other innovations present the same threats to jobs that ATM's posed to bank tellers and self-check-in kiosks posed to jobs at airports. When jobs disappear, problems appear: crime, drug use, and teen pregnancy in addition to loss of homes and an eroding tax base. When technology threatens to displace workers, we must invest in a workforce development system that can quickly respond and prepare workers for a changing labor market."

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