 Please enjoy your lunches, don't let me stop you from eating, but we're going to move into the keynote portion of our luncheon, and it is my pleasure to kick off the round of introductions. So my name is Megan Wills. I work for the National Governors Association, one of the PIA partners. I actually oversee all of our workforce development projects in the NGA Center for Best Practices, which is a very exciting role that we get to play. Workforce development is a really important topic to governors, increasingly so. So it's really such a pleasure to be here with all of you. Youth apprenticeship in particular is really increasing in importance to governors. So my role is to introduce David Etzweiler from the Siemens Foundation, who will introduce our lunch keynote speaker. But I want to take just a moment to tell you a little bit more about NGA and the work that we're doing in this space. So the National Governors Association is the bipartisan membership association of all the nation's governors, the 50 states, plus the five territories. Don't worry, there won't be a quiz on the five territories, but bonus points if you can name them all. So again, I oversee all of our workforce development projects at NGA. For the last three plus years, we've really been working across the country to expand participation in work-based learning and in apprenticeship. As we all know here in this room, these are models that work. We already saw earlier this morning that great video that featured Shannon. Really, certainly, if there were any doubters in the room, you're not doubters anymore. There's so much evidence that these programs really do work. So because of the success of these models, governors are really laser focused on in general preparing their residents for good jobs, including youth, young adults, adult workers, which has really led to our work to expand work-based learning and apprenticeship models over the last couple of years. Again, governors really recognize that these strategies work. So we're doing a lot across the country to expand participation in these models. As I mentioned, youth apprenticeship in particular is really a growing area of interest for governors, especially as they look overseas to the success of the German and Swiss models of apprenticeship that really do such a great job of preparing young people for work. Governors are just so inspired by the successes of those programs. They're really interested in taking back some of those successes and models and making them work in an American context, which is really leading governors to become increasingly interested in the idea of youth apprenticeship, which is why NGA is part of the PIA initiative to really expand this really exciting model and really bring it to more states across the country. The Siemens Foundation has been investing in all of NGA's work on expanding work-based learning and apprenticeship from the very beginning. And we just so appreciate the Siemens Foundation's partnership and thought leadership. We could not be doing this work without all of you. And certainly Siemens Foundation is a great supporter of PIA as well. So it's my pleasure now to introduce to you David Ezweiler who's the CEO of the Siemens Foundation, who will introduce our lunch keynote speaker. As I said, David is the CEO of the Foundation. The Siemens Foundation ignites and sustains today's STEM workforce and tomorrow's scientists and engineers under David's leadership. The foundation has really increased its focus on STEM, middle-skill workforce development in the United States. David has a long history of leadership at the intersection of business, government, and philanthropy. And he has just been such a champion of this work. And so it's my pleasure to invite David Ezweiler to the stage. Well, good afternoon everyone. And Megan, thank you for that introduction. NGA Center for Best Practices is just such a treat for us to work with. And Megan is really at the heart of that commitment and that dedication to the folks that all of us in this room are here to serve. So Megan, thank you for that introduction. Let me shift quickly to thanking Trident Technical College for hosting us today. Obviously wonderful facilities, but more importantly, I think all of us in the audience came down with high expectations and really have only had those expectations met and exceeded. So thank you so much. I will say, Dr. Thornely, that for those of us at the podium, you made that comment early on in the morning about how you can tell in the first minute or two whether folks have the energy and the passion for this work. So I'm thinking in the next couple of minutes, I'll probably be overdramatizing what I'll be saying. You set a high bar for that. But again, thank you for hosting us and more importantly for the work that you all are committed to. I'd like to also extend a special thanks to all of our fellow PIA funders in the audience. They say it takes a village and they're absolutely right. We are just so affirmed on a daily basis that this work is about finding the right partners in life and making sure that you line up your vision together. And from a funder's perspective, we're incredibly grateful for the folks who are working on this with us. The same, of course, can be said for each of the partners who make the partnership to advance youth apprenticeship or reality. All of you in this room give life to this project and we are grateful for your leadership and your expertise. And finally, while it is very dangerous to play favorites, I know you'll forgive me on this one time for a particular shout out to a favorite PIA partner of my colleague, Crystal Bridgeman, who's hard work and who's dedication. To those we serve today, it really is unsurpassed. And Crystal, you know, it's just a joy every day to be working with you. I would have Crystal stand up, but I noticed that she took a bite right before. I started to recognize her, so I won't do that. But Crystal, thank you so much. As Megan mentioned, I have the pleasure of leading the Siemens Foundation. And just a few years ago, we approached our board with the beginnings of something that we believed could be a game changer for post-secondary attainment and career readiness. We envisioned American high schools, like many of you, across the country offering a new pathway to success for their students, one that supported dual enrollment in college, securing the high school diploma, and gaining meaningful paid work experience with local employers in growing industries. They got it. They've seen this approach work well in other countries, particularly Germany, of course, and knew that it could open doors here. They saw the vision, but they also had the wisdom to understand that we could not and should not attempt this work alone. It would take partnerships with other philanthropic leaders who shared the same vision, partnerships with on-the-ground innovators, like the Charleston Regional Youth Apprenticeship Program, partnerships with top-notch national organizations, like our PIA partners, and partnerships among high schools, colleges, state and local governments, employers, and intermediaries, like those who will win Phase 1 awards later this spring. If you're hearing a theme here, and I think it's not just my presence at the podium, it has been throughout the morning, it is that we, like you, believe in the power of partnership, and this project is living proof of that power. We're excited to be on this journey with you to realize how the power of partnership will empower a new generation of young people and reinvigorate the American dream. None of us can do it alone, so I'm glad all of us have made the trip to learn from our friends in Charleston and from one another about how apprenticeship in high school opens new doors to affordable colleges and careers they can be passionate about. Like I said, this is a game changer, and all of us in this room are a part of it. Now, it is my honor to introduce to you Barbara Humpton. Barbara Humpton is CEO of Siemens USA, and also, and for a couple of us in the room, would say more importantly, serves as the chair of the Siemens Foundation Board of Directors. And I will share some of her official bio, but let me first share with you a quick story about her, and hopefully it's okay to say this about your boss, and we'll certainly learn that in a few minutes. But when Barbara was growing up, she was actually a bit of a math nerd. Her parents were math professors, and when her mom would show her calculus projects and ask if they looked like fun, Barbara was that rare child who'd say yes and spend time working on them. And Barbara, as I was looking over these again last night, I realized that you and I have the nerd part in common, but not necessarily the math nerd part. So you got the better combination. Barbara went on to study mathematics at Wake Forest. She was all set to go to grad school and to become a math professor like her parents, but one day on campus IVM showed up. They were recruiting math majors to come join them as software programmers, and Barbara accepted the offer. Barbara was then trained by IVM to be a software programmer, had an opportunity to work on projects critical to our national security. And from there, she rose up into management and into senior leadership roles. Today, she oversees 50,000 employees and $23 billion in revenue in Siemens' largest market in the world. As you can imagine, the experience Barbara had receiving technical training early in her career informs her thinking today on workforce development. She's using her platform as CEO to focus on how employers can address the business need for skilled labor while also helping bridge opportunity gaps across our society. The perspective she brings is that employers can't wait for talent to arrive at their doorstep. Sounds familiar to some of the comments this morning. They need to be actively involved in cultivating it themselves. So let me turn the podium over now to her so she can tell you more. Please join me in welcoming Barbara Humpton. David, thank you very much. Yes, nerds unite. You know, nerds rule the world. So we're off to a good start. You know, really there are so many people here that I want to thank. The work that these organizations are doing is just fabulous. Like David, I extend my thanks to all of our partners and really a shout out to everyone who's advancing the partnership to advance youth apprenticeship. Give yourselves a hand. Now, I do want to also recognize Dr. Thornley. You're my ideal. Dr. Thornley has been associated with this institution for 45 years. And I've been saying recently that careers have a much longer arc today than they used to. I'm looking forward to celebrating 45, 50, who knows. But in a career of lifelong learning, thank you. And then thank you also to those local partners that really make this Charleston Regional Youth Apprenticeship Program a real model of success. As David said, we know the importance of partnerships and we applaud those that you've built here that support both students and your businesses. And then I also want to thank the PIA founding partners who have teamed with the Siemens Foundation in this extraordinary effort. And those are the Ballmer Group, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation, and the Joyce Foundation. Your investment and expertise continue to be essential in realizing our shared goals. And it's been a privilege to collaborate with you and we're excited about all the possibilities ahead. So in case you can't tell, I'm really excited to be here today. And if you hear a little frog in my throat, it's because two weeks ago I had laryngitis and last week I was still recovering and apparently I still am. And all I can say is it's hard to be a CEO without a voice. But I am energized seeing the diverse network of people who are gathered here in this room. And like you, I've been seeing apprenticeships making a comeback. I've seen leaders starting to recognize the connection between apprenticeships and national strength. And we've seen a resurgence of apprenticeship programs in recent years. Just this past week when I had the opportunity to be at the table with Tim, Apple, Marilyn Lockheed and the President, we really have seen many companies beginning to reach out and establish their own apprenticeship programs. But it's what we're doing together, bringing apprenticeships forward into that K through 12 range, making quality apprenticeship programs a normal part of the high school experience. This is the next frontier. This is going to change the game for developing a 21st century workforce, for increasing college attainment and for closing the opportunity gap as well. And by the way, there's no, there's where better to have this meeting than a state where in just the past 12 years, youth apprenticeship programs have been increased by an amazing 42 fold. These examples of success here in South Carolina can both inspire us and help us build a wave. They can lend confidence to businesses and students and schools who are all looking to take the first steps. Now this partnership stands to be incredibly impactful in its outreach and in its investments. We have a real chance to create a high school apprenticeship framework that not only works in the United States, but thrives. When we succeed, we'll open new doors to college and careers. And that's especially true for students who haven't been well served by traditional higher education pathways. So let me share how I'm thinking about this. You know, Siemens first started our US apprenticeship program eight years ago. America is our largest market with 50,000 employees across the 50 states and territories. And we've got, by the way, 500 of them right here in South Carolina. And we have a tremendous manufacturing presence. One of our key factories is right here in Spartanburg, South Carolina. And that's just one of more than 60 manufacturing digital and research and development sites we have here in the US. But what really sparked growth in our apprenticeship program was our experience navigating the early stages of what I will refer to as our digital reinvention. A little more than 10 years ago, Siemens made its first software acquisition. And today we're one of the world's top 10 software companies with a bigger workforce than Apple, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft all combined. This bringing together of the virtual and the physical world has fundamentally changed how we work, particularly in manufacturing. And we've seen a tremendous need for STEM middle skill workers. As you know, these are the well-paying jobs in manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, and healthcare that today represent roughly half of all job openings through 2022. And here's an example. Think about a position like a machinist. In the past, a machinist would have had to learn how to use a manual machine. In the digital world, that machinist, in an advanced manufacturing plant, not only has to master that manual control, they also have to learn how to program that machine with a computer. So now in addition to on-the-job training, a machinist needs some classroom training in the STEM fields, especially digital skills, which are now in high demand at Siemens. To develop these skills ourselves, we found that we needed a way to combine on-the-job training and classroom education. And this became the impetus for Siemens to launch our U.S. Apprenticeship Program. It enabled us to create a system to develop middle-skill talent. Naturally, we looked to our German roots and their renowned apprenticeship model for inspiration. We saw in particular how Germany had a robust ecosystem across public and private sectors that has been integral to its apprenticeship success. And so we knew we needed to build strong local partnerships in order to make this work. In Charlotte, where we launched our apprenticeship program, we joined forces with a local community college to create a new curriculum. We reached out to local high schools. We met and then exceeded the requirements set by the Department of Labor for apprenticeship programs, and we shared our story with other companies. And I want to point out from the beginning, our apprenticeship program has focused on high school seniors. In fact, we ended up attracting one really talented student named Chad Robinson. At that time, as a senior in high school, he ranked at the top of his class. And he had his sights set on going to a four-year university for engineering. But when Chad found out what we were offering, he changed course. He saw he had a chance to continue his college education for free and without accruing debt. He saw he could get paid while jump-starting his career in education with real-world training. He saw he could finish his apprenticeship with an associate's degree and international certification and to top it all off a job with Siemens starting at about $55,000 a year. What he saw that is by becoming an apprentice, it would set him up to go as far in his education and career as his ambition would take him. And what I want to see us do is multiply Chad's story by the thousands or by the tens or hundreds of thousands in this country. Frankly, this is what we need to do. In the tech economy, there are some half a million open positions, yet only 40,000 computer science graduates entering the workforce every year. In manufacturing, the National Association of Manufacturers is reporting another half a million open positions. So when I hear Chad's story, I think there's someone we were able to reach. But I also ask myself, who else are we missing? To answer this question, we need to imagine a world in which access to education and training is as abundant as the human capability that exists in our society. This needs to be our mission. To be more specific, we need to create a system of education and training that's responsive to two fundamental realities. One is the link today between college and success. And the second is the reality that traditional college pathways in terms of affordability and accessibility are simply not working well for too many students. I'll share with you that the Institute for Higher Education Policy now says that students from middle class families cannot afford to attend 70% of our colleges. That includes students who maximize their student loans. But there is a solution, and together we can provide it. We can bring apprenticeships to students earlier and show them a pathway to success and fulfillment. It's around this promise of opportunity through apprenticeships that the needs of the business community coalesce with supporting the vibrancy of the American dream. It's within this space that our effort to expand training and education and address systemic barriers becomes a truly national objective. Now, part of my job as CEO of Siemens USA is to continually evaluate whether we're doing our part to empower our workers today and into the future. Then to think about how we can push those boundaries even further. What commitments can we make to help build the workforce of the 21st century? What role can we play to foster lifelong career success? Well, I'll tell you, as I shared last month I was named to the new administration's American Workforce Policy Advisory Board. The Board brings together the expertise of 25 leaders from industry, government, labor, education, for the purpose of coming up with a plan to ensure the future competitiveness and prosperity of American workers. We made a pledge to expand our U.S. education and training opportunities. Over the next five years, our efforts will reach more than 75,000 workers and students. This joins the Siemens commitment to education and training by expanding our apprenticeships from our pilot program in Charlotte to nine states, granting 125,000 software licenses to academic institutions, ensuring that tens of thousands of students have access to our hardware and our software in the classroom, hiring an additional 300 veterans annually over the next several years and investing 50 million dollars every year in continuing education for our own employees. You know, a lot of attention is paid to the skills gap in our country. It's persisted in times of high unemployment and low, and while the rebound of our economy in recent years hasn't closed this gap, a strong community could. We can do it with a community of businesses who are willing to invest in tomorrow's workforce, with government leaders who are committed to policymaking that supports training opportunities and with educators who recognize the many pathways that their students can take to build a career and attain a college degree. So let me leave you with three final thoughts. The first, apprenticeships can help us plan ahead. Traditional jobs are evolving and they're requiring more advanced and technical skills each year. South Carolina saw this evolution coming and began preparing early. The state recognized how advanced automation would affect the industries critical to the state's economy. Investing in people through apprenticeships was a way to make a difference. But we're not just focused on updating the jobs we've always known, companies like Siemens are now creating new jobs that have never existed before. Because of technological advancements, we now need people who can work with augmented intelligence, with the Internet of Things, and with machine learning, terms unheard of not too long ago. That means we need to plan with a forward-thinking mindset. We need to focus not just on the jobs we have today, but jobs and skills three, five, and 10 years from now. Second, we need to look at how apprenticeships can help us grow the tent. It will be impossible to build a 21st century workforce if the talent pool isn't even half full or if the only way to participate is to have a PhD or a four-year degree. Let's change the statistic that women and minority groups are underrepresented in STEM fields. Women make up less than a third of the tech workforce. African Americans and Latinos make up only five percent. We need to be more inclusive and diverse. That means looking for talent everywhere and expanding apprenticeship opportunities in ways that can help recruit it. A bigger tent is not only the right thing to do, but it's good for business and good for society. To get there, we'll have to work together to tackle the systemic barriers that keep too many young people from the classroom and the labor market. It'll take persistence and collaboration. And the question I ask again is, what is the real societal cost of not fully utilizing the full range of talent that exists in every community and in every person? So lastly, in every way possible, let's focus on purpose. One of the selling points of apprenticeships for high school students is that they light a path to college and financial security. But today's young people want more. Over 90% of students who took a survey done by our partner Advanced CTE said purpose was more important even than a well-paying job. Young people want to make a difference in the world. And so as we cultivate an ecosystem for apprenticeships, we should continue to think about how these opportunities can lead to meaningful work and a college degree they build upon. We need to highlight how apprenticeships are a platform to make an impact in the world and in their own future. We need to think about how STEM skills in the classroom when paired with technical training can enable people to contribute to a mission bigger than themselves. Think about an apprentice training to be a building technician. This person is not only developing technical skills and learning how to use intelligent devices to make buildings smarter. But do you know that buildings consume about 40% of all the electricity we produce in the country? Well the technology that we now have can dramatically reduce the electricity consumption and by virtue of that lower our carbon footprint. Which means an apprenticeship training to be a building technician isn't just entering a well-paying career. She's working on the front line of the energy transformation. So let's be bold as we move into this next frontier for apprenticeships in the American high school. Let's lead with purpose. Let's not hold back on our resources or our vision. Let's share our ideas with each other. Let's develop talent and create opportunity. If we do that we'll build a pathway that works for all young people. And that leads those who follow it to purpose fulfillment and to the American dream. Thank you.