In the wake of the 2008 recession, President Obama introduced a new term into the national lexicon to describe recovery projects most worthy of investment: “shovel-ready.” The term has its roots in upstate New York, where a local power company used it to refer to development sites that already had the necessary electrical, gas, sewer lines, and permits. President Obama used it to refer to projects that were far enough along that, with just enough federal investment, they could create jobs, and economic impact.
Today, we find ourselves in the midst of an economic upheaval that has sparked both an unprecedented spike in unemployment, and a massive federal response. As the specter of COVID-19 looms large in America’s economic forecast, talk of upskilling and retraining workers abounds. If you buy into the narrative that is becoming increasingly popular among workforce development optimists, hordes of displaced restaurant workers will soon close skill gaps for tech employers; retail workers will retrain into the most in-demand healthcare roles.
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