Ivanka Trump visits the factory floor in Charlotte

Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross hosted the second meeting of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board today in Charlotte, North Carolina. While visiting a Siemens USA manufacturing plant, Ms. Trump paid a visit to the factory floor.

Watch: Ivanka Trump talks with a member of Siemens’ apprenticeship program

“When I told my parents I was looking into this, at first they were kind of skeptical because they think of manufacturing as dirty, dingy, really dark,” said Chad Robinson, a participant in Siemens USA’s apprenticeship program. “And then they came here.”

The reality is that modern manufacturing is a source of good-paying, high-quality work for millions of Americans. Today, there are more than 500,000 open jobs in the manufacturing sector, according to National Association of Manufacturers President Jay Timmons. In 10 years, that figure could reach 2.4 million openings. Our great workers need the skills and training to match these opportunities.

Rather than give up on the idea of America as a global manufacturing powerhouse, President Donald J. Trump doubled down on making that vision a reality. Last summer, he launched the Pledge to America’s Workers, which challenges companies to expand programs to educate, train, and reskill workers from high-school age up to near-retirement.

Ivanka Trump has led the charge, crisscrossing the United States and securing commitments from small, medium-sized, and multinational companies from coast to coast. The total number of new opportunities created as part of the Pledge to America’s Workers is more than 9 million.

“The U.S. is the best place in the world for people to locate,” Secretary Ross said today about the growing American manufacturing sector. “The job now is more design, more quality control, more sophisticated work than it had been. So it’s not that there’s less work; it’s just a different kind of work and work that requires a bit more training.”

The return of manufacturing reflects a broader turnaround in the U.S. jobs climate under President Trump. As of May, America’s 3.6 percent unemployment rate matches its lowest level since 1969—and is the 15^th straight month with unemployment at or below 4 percent. The economy has added more than 5.8 million jobs since President Trump’s election.

Photos: Ivanka Trump’s “energizing” visit with factory workers in Charlotte

Siemens CEO: We’re proud to showcase our “world-class apprenticeship program”