WEBVTT - Job Market in Flux

0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:04.160
<v Speaker 1>This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Bloomberg

0:00:04.240 --> 0:00:08.760
<v Speaker 1>Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. Goodwill Industries, you

0:00:08.800 --> 0:00:10.840
<v Speaker 1>know them well and I feel especially at this time

0:00:10.880 --> 0:00:13.280
<v Speaker 1>of the year when you might be making some end

0:00:13.280 --> 0:00:16.880
<v Speaker 1>of year donations. Goodwill, though, is busy throughout the year.

0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:20.440
<v Speaker 1>Last year, loan serving nearly two million individuals around the globe,

0:00:20.680 --> 0:00:24.360
<v Speaker 1>including helping to train more than nearly more than nearly

0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:28.280
<v Speaker 1>twenty five thousand individuals for careers and industries such as banking,

0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:32.000
<v Speaker 1>I T and healthcare. So a really appropriate guest and

0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:35.199
<v Speaker 1>topic on this Giving Tuesday. We've got Steve Preston with us.

0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:40.120
<v Speaker 1>He's CEO of Goodwill Industries International. He's also got a

0:00:40.280 --> 0:00:43.400
<v Speaker 1>great background. You worked in the government as administrator of

0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:45.960
<v Speaker 1>the s b A. UH. He was Secretary of Housing

0:00:46.000 --> 0:00:49.479
<v Speaker 1>and Urban Development. UH. Stephen, good to have you with

0:00:49.560 --> 0:00:52.320
<v Speaker 1>us this afternoon. How are you. I'm great, It's great

0:00:52.360 --> 0:00:54.840
<v Speaker 1>to be with you, guys. UM. Before we get to

0:00:54.920 --> 0:00:56.560
<v Speaker 1>what exactly you're doing a good Will I just want

0:00:56.600 --> 0:00:58.240
<v Speaker 1>to get an idea of what you're seeing with the

0:00:58.320 --> 0:01:00.720
<v Speaker 1>labor market, what you're seeing across the on me, because

0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:04.880
<v Speaker 1>that is directly impacts what you do. It good well,

0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:08.119
<v Speaker 1>so what's your read? Yeah, for sure it does. So

0:01:08.319 --> 0:01:12.920
<v Speaker 1>we our network employees people and as you mentioned, we

0:01:13.000 --> 0:01:16.640
<v Speaker 1>support uh two million people on their quest to a

0:01:16.680 --> 0:01:19.039
<v Speaker 1>better job each year. So we we touched the labor

0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:21.800
<v Speaker 1>market in a number of different ways. Um, we're seeing

0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:23.600
<v Speaker 1>with a lot of a lot of you all see

0:01:23.720 --> 0:01:26.080
<v Speaker 1>it is hot. It's a little bit less hot than

0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:27.720
<v Speaker 1>it was a few months ago, but it's still on

0:01:27.760 --> 0:01:31.559
<v Speaker 1>it from a historical perspective. Um, you know, really strong

0:01:31.680 --> 0:01:35.280
<v Speaker 1>labor market. The other thing we're seeing though, is the

0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:39.760
<v Speaker 1>narrative here is less about, um, the problem getting a job.

0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:42.759
<v Speaker 1>The narrative is more around people being able to find

0:01:43.480 --> 0:01:46.319
<v Speaker 1>the right kind of job and employers finding the right

0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:49.640
<v Speaker 1>kind of employee. Increasingly, what employers have told us over

0:01:49.680 --> 0:01:52.360
<v Speaker 1>the last you know, five or six months is they've

0:01:52.400 --> 0:01:55.360
<v Speaker 1>got these great jobs available, but they need people with

0:01:55.400 --> 0:01:57.960
<v Speaker 1>the right kind of training to be able to be

0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:00.480
<v Speaker 1>successful in them. And they're often job that are well

0:02:00.480 --> 0:02:04.440
<v Speaker 1>paying off for good advancement and in in good benefits.

0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:06.920
<v Speaker 1>We have people on the other side who are sort

0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:09.400
<v Speaker 1>of churning in low wage jobs who told us that

0:02:09.440 --> 0:02:12.560
<v Speaker 1>they want those better jobs, but they're not able to

0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:14.959
<v Speaker 1>compete for them because they lack the skills or other

0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:17.680
<v Speaker 1>support they need to be successful in them, and so

0:02:17.720 --> 0:02:20.320
<v Speaker 1>we try to provide that bridge. But there's a huge

0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:23.760
<v Speaker 1>opportunity out there right now in our market for people

0:02:23.760 --> 0:02:26.040
<v Speaker 1>to move from lower wage jobs into better jobs if

0:02:26.080 --> 0:02:28.440
<v Speaker 1>they can get support during that pathway, you know, Steve,

0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:30.079
<v Speaker 1>I've got to say, I feel like over the years

0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:32.200
<v Speaker 1>we've talked often about a skills gap. I feel like

0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:34.720
<v Speaker 1>Alan Greenspan used to talk about it a lot when

0:02:34.760 --> 0:02:37.840
<v Speaker 1>he was a FED chair and so not a new idea,

0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:40.520
<v Speaker 1>but I appreciate what you're saying. So, how do we

0:02:40.600 --> 0:02:45.280
<v Speaker 1>really significantly make sure that, you know, the skills that

0:02:45.320 --> 0:02:49.440
<v Speaker 1>are needed are being provided, whether it's through academic institutions

0:02:50.120 --> 0:02:52.960
<v Speaker 1>or other types of training, you know, facilities. How do

0:02:53.040 --> 0:02:56.920
<v Speaker 1>we fix this problem that's been around for a while. Yeah,

0:02:56.919 --> 0:02:59.360
<v Speaker 1>it's been around and it's expanded, it's getting worse. So

0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:02.000
<v Speaker 1>I'm glad you brought that up. I think foundationally, we

0:03:02.080 --> 0:03:04.359
<v Speaker 1>may need to make sure that young people are entering

0:03:04.720 --> 0:03:08.880
<v Speaker 1>the labor for with foundational skills, whether they be digital skills, core,

0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:12.560
<v Speaker 1>mathematics core, you know, uh, reading and writing skills. A

0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:14.720
<v Speaker 1>lot of those are missing at the outset, and that's

0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:17.160
<v Speaker 1>that's sort of the that's sort of the entry point.

0:03:17.480 --> 0:03:20.160
<v Speaker 1>But is that basic education like through high school you're

0:03:20.200 --> 0:03:23.680
<v Speaker 1>talking about, it's basic education in high school. And we

0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:26.680
<v Speaker 1>need to make sure their educational institutions are preparing people

0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:29.960
<v Speaker 1>for the workforce. And many of us believe providing more

0:03:30.040 --> 0:03:32.760
<v Speaker 1>vocational opportunities for people who don't necessarily want to go

0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:37.200
<v Speaker 1>to college but are are perfect candidates for great jobs

0:03:37.200 --> 0:03:40.680
<v Speaker 1>in the trades or in other areas. When people get older,

0:03:40.960 --> 0:03:43.280
<v Speaker 1>if they if they're unable to be successful in the

0:03:43.400 --> 0:03:45.720
<v Speaker 1>labor market, or if they have other challenges in life,

0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:48.920
<v Speaker 1>it is really hard for people to get back on track.

0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:52.480
<v Speaker 1>And as a result, we need ways for those people

0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:55.440
<v Speaker 1>to get the support they need that they cannot only

0:03:55.480 --> 0:03:58.200
<v Speaker 1>break through barriers that they have in life in general,

0:03:58.560 --> 0:04:01.640
<v Speaker 1>but they can get those course skills. We see people,

0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:05.040
<v Speaker 1>we see single moms with kids and homeless shelters going

0:04:05.080 --> 0:04:08.160
<v Speaker 1>to duck jobs at Google and Accenture in six months.

0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:11.600
<v Speaker 1>Because if they're getting you're getting support they need to

0:04:11.680 --> 0:04:14.120
<v Speaker 1>kind of work through that journey, maybe housing support or

0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:17.560
<v Speaker 1>other support, and they're getting breakthrough digital skills or other

0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:20.880
<v Speaker 1>skills And the interesting thing about that is that first

0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:25.080
<v Speaker 1>job isn't necessarily the ending point. It's like a destination

0:04:25.120 --> 0:04:28.040
<v Speaker 1>where people say, oh my gosh, like I can do this,

0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:31.080
<v Speaker 1>I've got these skills, and it becomes it changes the

0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:34.640
<v Speaker 1>trajectory for people in their lives. So there are pathways.

0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:36.600
<v Speaker 1>We see it every day in the work what we do.

0:04:36.839 --> 0:04:39.880
<v Speaker 1>But we need people to get more access to those supports,

0:04:39.960 --> 0:04:43.159
<v Speaker 1>and not only the skills themselves, but help through that

0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:45.599
<v Speaker 1>initial part in the journey so that they can get

0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:47.919
<v Speaker 1>to the other ended move into employment. Hey Mike, we

0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:50.440
<v Speaker 1>only got a minute left, but you worked in government

0:04:50.520 --> 0:04:52.560
<v Speaker 1>for many years. You were former Secretary of Housing and

0:04:52.640 --> 0:04:54.880
<v Speaker 1>Urban Development, you were administrator of the s b A.

0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:58.840
<v Speaker 1>Given what you know now you're from your work at Goodwill.

0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:01.520
<v Speaker 1>If you could wave a magic wand and get lawmakers

0:05:01.560 --> 0:05:04.200
<v Speaker 1>to do something to help alleviate the issues that you

0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:06.840
<v Speaker 1>see each and every day, what would it be. Well,

0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:09.159
<v Speaker 1>first of all, my my magic wand would say, let's

0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:11.159
<v Speaker 1>let's agree there's a problem together. We want to work

0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:13.560
<v Speaker 1>together rather than going into our separate camp. So that's

0:05:13.560 --> 0:05:17.320
<v Speaker 1>a broader, broader narrative. I think we need to focus

0:05:17.360 --> 0:05:23.160
<v Speaker 1>on the core educational lack in this entire system, both

0:05:23.160 --> 0:05:25.720
<v Speaker 1>at the edge, at the at the secondary educational level

0:05:26.080 --> 0:05:30.880
<v Speaker 1>and beyond, because our employers needed, are people needed, Our

0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:34.240
<v Speaker 1>community is needed, and there are pathways both early on

0:05:34.320 --> 0:05:37.359
<v Speaker 1>and throughout life that we can support that will change

0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:40.320
<v Speaker 1>this issue. And UM and I think there's a lot

0:05:40.320 --> 0:05:42.200
<v Speaker 1>of data out there. There are a lot of service

0:05:42.200 --> 0:05:44.440
<v Speaker 1>providers like us out there, and if we can come together,

0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:47.640
<v Speaker 1>we can make a huge dent in this issue. Well,

0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:50.159
<v Speaker 1>we run out of time, Steve, but I hope UM

0:05:50.200 --> 0:05:51.880
<v Speaker 1>you will come back because we would love to continue

0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:53.320
<v Speaker 1>the conversation and I feel like there's a lot of

0:05:53.400 --> 0:05:56.240
<v Speaker 1>other areas that we could go with you. Steve Preston,

0:05:56.400 --> 0:06:00.279
<v Speaker 1>Chief executive officer, Goodwill Industries International. He's former Secretary Area

0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:02.640
<v Speaker 1>of the U S Department of Housing and Urban Development

0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:05.640
<v Speaker 1>and Administrative of the U S Small Business Administration. He

0:06:05.760 --> 0:06:09.760
<v Speaker 1>served during the George W. Bush administration. So great to

0:06:09.760 --> 0:06:12.360
<v Speaker 1>catch up with him via zoom in Washington, d C.

0:06:12.520 --> 0:06:14.840
<v Speaker 1>A lot of relevant You know, when you look at

0:06:14.839 --> 0:06:18.039
<v Speaker 1>a labor market and how tight it is, this is

0:06:18.080 --> 0:06:20.480
<v Speaker 1>ways of creating workers that have the skills that are needed.

0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:22.320
<v Speaker 1>This is Bloomberg Radio