Ivanka Trump makes stop in Charlotte for workforce development visit

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ivanka Trump made a stop in Charlotte Tuesday morning as part of a workforce development visit.

She toured the Siemens Energy Hub in Steele Creek along with Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

There, the group spoke with students who are enrolled in the apprenticeship program. It is a four-year deal that helps train people in manufacturing jobs and then hires them.

Ross said it is the perfect example of what the advisory board is trying to do. Its goal is to help create more opportunities for people who don't go to college and can help fill critical employment gaps.

"So we just talked with a young woman who just graduated from East Meck High School and she chose this line of work," Lyles said. "She's in the apprenticeship. She comes out of this with a job and no student debt."

"There are more jobs available than unemployed people. 7.6 million jobs, 5.9 (million) unemployed -- but that gap, excess jobs hold back the economy," Ross said.

The board said it hopes to come up with more solutions to fill that gap across the country.

After touring at Siemens, Trump headed to the Foundations for the Carolinas in uptown for a Workplace Policy Advisory Board meeting.

Lyles, along with other government officials and CEOs from various corporations across the country, sits on the advisory board.

Board members included CEOs from Apple, Walmart, Visa and The Home Depot, as well as national economic leaders.

Their goal is to help expand career opportunities for Americans by developing a national strategy for training and retraining workers needed to fill open positions.

“The market is roaring hot, and we need to make sure everyone is able to benefit from that reality and has the skills to advance themselves,” Trump said.

Some people gathered outside to protest, claiming there are no “regular people” on the board.

Advisory board members, however, disagree.

There are representatives for the public sector, private sector, education, labor and nonprofits.

Lyles is the only mayor on the national board.

“It’s a great opportunity for our city to both, showcase what we’re doing now to get everyone with a position of value a job they have, so they can support their families,” Lyles said. “But it’s also a place to learn what other views we should incorporate.”

This was the second meeting for this new advisory board.

The next meeting is in Washington in September, but leaders said Americans can already see the results.

Last October, Trump made a trip to Mooresville, where she spoke at the NASCAR Technical Institute about the overall strength of the economy.

She also stopped by a fire station and spoke with first responders to Hurricane Florence.

Cox Media Group