Richmond Fed’s Barkin calls for more vocational training

Tom Barkin, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, warned that the US labour force lacks the right workers for infrastructure regeneration.

In a post on the bank’s website, Barkin said: “The US economy doesn’t have enough production workers or skilled tradespeople.” He added that businesses across his bank’s district complain of skills shortages.

Barkin explained that the global financial crisis produced large-scale unemployment in manufacturing and construction sectors. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has not: rather, it is services sector workers who have lost their jobs. “It’s easy to see why someone would be unable – or unwilling – to move from waiting tables in an urban restaurant to working the third shift at a manufacturing plant far outside the city,” he said.

The Richmond Fed president proposed new programmes and regulatory changes to increase the number of workers with manufacturing and construction skills. He advocated making vocational certificate programmes eligible for federal and state education funding, and expanding apprenticeships.

Barkin also suggested “relaxing legal immigration constraints for skilled tradespeople”, noting that immigration controls had reduced the number of skilled workers.

US president Joe Biden promised a wide-ranging infrastructure plan during his presidential campaign. His campaign also pledged to build 1.5 million new homes and to upgrade 4 million buildings.