Opportunity Nation’s 2012 Summit Focuses on Pathways to Success
By Hadeel Al-Tashi, Program Coordinator
Last Wednesday hundreds of leaders, legislators, academics, non-profit and business professionals, as well as young adults attended Opportunity Nation’s 2012 Summit with the collective vision of expanding economic opportunity and mobility in America. The mission: Discuss proposed solutions for minimizing the skills gap by addressing the pathways to success for young adults.
A growing momentum of positive energy, inspiration, creativity and eagerness for change filled the venue throughout the day. Guest speakers included Senators Marco Rubio, Tom Harkin and Chris Coons; Governor Deval Patrick; media personalities Arianna Huffington, Judy Woodruff, Michael Gerson; and celebrity Jordin Sparks.
According to Opportunity Nation, despite the current unemployment crisis, there are millions of U.S. jobs available right now that employers need to fill, but 40% of them say applicants lack the required degree, certificate, and skills needed for these jobs.
In an effort to effectively highlight this problem Opportunity Nation released its second annual, a new way to measure opportunity in any particular state. Measuring a dynamic set of factors that influence an individual’s long-term success, the Opportunity Index reveals data behind the unfortunate fact that the zip code where one is born has a profound impact on opportunities provided. (Click here to learn about your state’s Opportunity Score). Opportunity Nation has thus set a 10-year goal to improve Opportunity Scores by at least 10 percent in all 50 states.
The Summit included breakout sessions and working lunches, each of which highlighted a new pathway for providing betters opportunities in America. It was emphasized that we should shift our focus from a binary conversation (i.e. regarding our preferred government’s too little or too much involvement) to one which discusses collaboration between the public and private sectors.
In one of the Summit’s breakout sessions leading journalists from CNN, The Wall Street, Bloomberg and Time Inc. discussed the role of the media in defining the parameters of this debate. They concluded that the media is more interested in personal stories than solving problems. Hence, an effective pathway determined is the use of such stories to address and solve problems by observing what works and what does not.
In order to achieve its 10-year goal, Opportunity Nation created a Shared Plan consisting of eight-points focused on actions that both the public and private sectors can take to rebuild the American Dream. As many of the guest speakers pointed out: we are stronger when we work together. Whether it is mentoring a young adult or incorporating internships, apprenticeships and job-shadowing programs into our organizations, Opportunity Nation believes that there is something we can all do to overcome this skills gap and rebuild the ladder of opportunity for young adults.
Visit the Opportunity Nation website to find out how you can get involved.