Can a Commitment to Lifelong Learning Be Legislated?

While net surfing last night I found myself on a page called QMAP: Executive Orders. What I found interesting, or intriguing, is how many of these initiatives get generated, but no one hears about them. Have you ever read an executive order by any president?  This page has 88 Executive Orders signed by President Trump.

This one here is about the need for more skilled workers to fill unfilled positions. A few weeks ago I read a Medium story about how fast things are changing and that to stay current one should spend an hour a day developing and honing their skills in order to stay current with technology. It resonated with me, but somehow it feels like something that must be driven from within. How do we motivate American workers to do what needs to be done to bridge the skills gap? The idea of learning skills to get a job that fills a need flies in the face of another message we repeat to our young people: Follow Your Bliss. What if what you love doing is something nobody needs or wants to pay for? What then?

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Here is a portion from one of the 88 Executive Orders on this QMAP site. As a writer I found it thoughtful, relevant and well written. Many of the others are also quite interesting. The only ones we seem to hear about in the media are the controversial ones.

Executive Order 13845 of July 19, 2018
Establishing the President's National Council for the American Worker

Section 1. Purpose. Our Nation is facing a skills crisis. There are currently more than 6.7 million unfilled jobs in the United States, and American workers, who are our country's most valuable resource, need the skills training to fill them. At the same time, the economy is changing at a rapid pace because of the technology, automation, and artificial intelligence that is shaping many industries, from manufacturing to healthcare to retail. For too long, our country's education and job training programs have prepared Americans for the economy of the past. The rapidly changing digital economy requires the United States to view education and training as encompassing more than a single period of time in a traditional classroom. We need to prepare Americans for the 21st century economy and the emerging industries of the future. We must foster an environment of lifelong learning and skills-based training, and cultivate a demand-driven approach to workforce development. My Administration will champion effective, results-driven education and training so that American students and workers can obtain the skills they need to succeed in the jobs of today and of the future.

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Sec. 7. Initial Tasks of Council. Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Council shall:
(a) develop a national campaign to raise awareness of matters considered by the Council, such as the urgency of the skills crisis; the importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education; the creation of new industries and job opportunities spurred by emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence; the nature of many careers in the trades and manufacturing; and the need for companies to invest in the training and re-training of their workers and more clearly define the skills and competencies that jobs require;

etc.

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For those interested, here's the link where you can see other kinds of things being set in motion (or intended to be) since President Trump's inauguration: QMAP: Executive Orders
If the hotlink fails, then here is the URL:  https://qmap.pub/docs