A skilled workforce is indispensable to sustain the manufacturing resurgence in the United States. In recent decades, the United States has faced the challenge of training the types of workers—whether in skilled production and higher professions or in science and engineering research fields—needed to remain competitive in global markets. In this environment, the German dual system of training is increasingly seen as a major contributor to narrowing the skills gap. This conference will bring together leading experts from government and industry to explore ways in which individual companies, often German multinationals and regional consortia, are finding effective ways to adapt the dual system to the U.S. economic and social environment. The final panel will offer policy prescriptions for the United States. This event will be keynoted by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Pritzker, who has long been a leader in the public and private sector in this field. CEOs of leading German and American companies who have found successful ways to meet their needs using the dual system will also be featured.
Welcome
— Thomas J. Duesterberg, Executive Director, Manufacturing and Society in the 21st Century, The Aspen Institute
— Peter Wittig, German Ambassador to the United States
Keynote Address
— Penny S. Pritzker, Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce
