Institute economist Brad Hershbein contributed a column titled "You’re Not Safe In Your Cubicle: Middle-Skilled Workers Will Be Left Behind to GE Reports. In it, Hershbein divides the workforce into four groups: 1) the non-employed, 2) lower-income entrants, 3) higher-income entrants, and 4) the already employed, and discusses the job training available for each group. According to Hershbein, "For less-skilled workers, generally those most at risk of losing their jobs due to a plant closing or firm shutdown, there is some federal money, distributed through the states, but the amounts are paltry compared to those for higher-skilled workers, even if research has shown that these small funding levels more than pay for themselves in worker success. But for the vast number of workers in the middle, there is little recourse. The government provides little to no assistance for their skills training, their employers seldom offer skills development, and the workers themselves often face financial barriers. Meanwhile, those in middle-skill jobs in manufacturing and office support are particularly susceptible to automation or trade (or both)." The column appeared on September 12.
