Secretary Azar Visits Iowa to Highlight Pledge to America’s Workers with Ivanka Trump and Governor Reynolds

Today, as part of Pledge to America’s Workers Month, HHS Secretary Alex M. Azar II participated in an employee roundtable at the Hy-Vee Helpful Smiles Technology (HST) Innovation Center in Grimes, Iowa, with Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.

This roundtable marks the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s Executive Order establishing the National Council for the American Worker and the Pledge to America’s Workers initiative, which is aimed at challenging companies of all sizes to commit to providing new education and training opportunities over the next five years — and celebrating their commitment.  

Hy-Vee Chairman, CEO, and President Randy Edeker led a tour of the training facility, where he discussed some of the features of the facility, including the Hy-Vee Aisles Online Kiosk, the Hy-Vee KidsFit Program, and the HST Basketball Court. The group stopped in several meetings in progress, including HR Orientation Training, Dietician Media Training, and Pharmacist Adherence Training for pharmacists and technicians.

After the tour, CEO Edeker moderated a roundtable where employees shared stories of the impact that workforce training has had on their careers. The roundtable highlighted the vibrant economy and low unemployment rate nationwide and in the state of Iowa; the importance of workforce development in a booming job market; and the impact that President Trump’s Pledge to America’s Workers initiative is having - with more than 280 companies and 38 governors signing the pledge, together pledging to create nearly 10 million employee opportunities.

Read more information about the Pledge to America’s Workers: https://www.whitehouse.gov/pledge-to-americas-workers/.