For the past five years, WorkingNation’s team of business leaders, educators, journalists, and storytellers has crisscrossed the country to learn all we can about solutions to the employment issues caused by a mismatch between the skills an employer wants and the skills jobseekers have.

We’ve shared the stories of programs and initiatives that are working to close that gap here on our website and in interviews and appearances at conferences.

In the wake of COVID-19, the issue has become even more urgent, with tens of millions of people losing their jobs and facing uncertain financial futures. In the latest edition of the Jewish Journal, we take a close look at what experts are saying now about what needs to be done to get people back to work, both for economic reasons and for emotional reasons.

Here are two off the many takeaways in the article We Have an Unemployment Crisis. Now What?:

“…there are going to be some bigger, longer-term changes in the workforce in the coming months as the country tries to restart the economic engine. Even jobs we don’t historically think of as being technologically oriented will be impacted, such as jobs in retail and hospitality. These industries will be looking for workers with tech and digital skills that enable them to multitask in new ways.”

“Upskilling is key to rebuilding the workforce and, importantly, making certain unemployed workers are able to find good jobs and careers, and a sense of purpose.”

You can read more about the changing workforce in the article written by our Editor-in-Chief Ramona Schindelheim at the Jewish Journal website.

Ramona was also the guest on the Jewish Journal’s Pandemic Times podcast, joining publisher David Suissa to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on employment and how upskilling can help address the crisis.