Ivanka Trump is helping the White House launch a new program Thursday intended to beef up training and education for American workers as the U.S. contends with an economy increasingly shifting from manufacturing to the service and technology industries.
In an interview with Joe Kernen on CNBC's "Squawk Box," the senior White House advisor and elder daughter to President Donald Trump stressed the need for workers in the middle and later stages of their careers to have access to training that will help them transition to new jobs.
"We also have to be thinking about the mid- to late-career worker, who needs to be re-trained and re-skilled," she said. "As a country, by and large, all investment in education stops at the age of 25, and that doesn't work in such a fast-changing, increasingly digital economy."
The economy may look good now, with 4 percent unemployment, but large and small employers are concerned that there aren't enough workers with the right skill sets to fill vacancies, Trump said.
President Trump is slated to sign an executive order for the initiative later Thursday.
The council will focus on a "holistic approach" to the development skills, whether it's during a person's elementary and high school years or their working years, Ivanka Trump said, "and bring all of government together to devise a national workforce strategy."
The administration will also push for private-sector involvement, which will be a key part of the president's announcement later Thursday, she added.