Cognizant’s Allen Shaheen, Executive Vice President, and Eric Westphal, Senior Director, Global Workforce Strategy and Economic Development, participated in the U.S. News & World Report STEM Solutions event:  Workforce of Tomorrow in Washington, D.C. Industry leaders, educators, and government officials joined the event to discuss education and how to develop a workforce that can meet the country’s changing needs.

At the conference, Shaheen and Westphal had the opportunity to showcase Cognizant’s role as an innovator and job creator through keynote and panel conversations with industry stakeholders and policymakers. Highlighted in their presentations were Cognizant’s pre-employment training programs and the Cognizant U.S. Foundation.

Partnering with local universities and workforce non-profit entities, Cognizant engages with communities to develop the next generation of highly skilled American workers by equipping them with the digital literacy and technical skills needed to attain careers in the field of technology.

In 2018, Cognizant also established the Cognizant U.S. Foundation with an initial grant of $100 million to support STEM and digital education and skills initiatives for U.S. workers. The Foundation deploys funds and grants to target key demographic groups to help drive and implement strategic workforce initiatives.

“The world job market is rapidly changing,” said Shaheen. “With the dawn of the fourth industrial revolution, it’s more important than ever to close the skills gap in the field of technology. That’s why our work with higher education institutions and non-profit organizations is so critical—we have a distinct opportunity to shape the leaders of tomorrow. Participating in the STEM Solutions conference was a great way to share what we are doing at Cognizant and to learn what other industry leaders are doing to shape the future.”

To learn more about the U.S. News & World Report STEM Solutions conference, click here.