Ava MacLaughlin
Education and Workforce Intern, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
Published
December 12, 2025
Rick Pearce has spent more than a decade driving business and community growth through the Chamber of Commerce of Middletown, Monroe, and Trenton. Since becoming president in 2013, Rick has focused on uniting employers, educators, and businesses around one mission: preparing the next generation for success.
Listening Builds the Foundation for Workforce Change
In his first six months as chamber president, conversations with members revealed a clear priority: stronger support for workforce development. To strengthen his approach, Rick joined the inaugural class of the U.S. Chamber Foundation’s Business Leads Fellowship Program (Business Leads). The six-month fellowship provided practical strategies to connect education systems with economic opportunities and build a strong talent pipeline for local businesses. Just as important, it gave Rick access to a national network of peers facing similar challenges.
Rick’s experience reinforced a powerful lesson: effective workforce leadership begins with listening. For chambers of commerce, that means starting with the business community—understanding their needs, concerns, and priorities. Once those voices are heard, chambers can work with educators to align curriculum with real-world skills, ensuring students graduate prepared for the jobs of tomorrow.
From Fellowship to Framework: Building the Future Ready Skill Set
Building on what he learned through Business Leads, Rick turned listening into action. He began addressing a critical gap: the skills entry-level employees need to succeed. Employers repeatedly emphasized that technical knowledge alone was not enough—students needed strong interpersonal and problem-solving abilities to thrive in the workplace.
Rick sums it up simply: “Soft skills are essential skills.”
To tackle this challenge, Rick convened local manufacturers and healthcare leaders, who make up nearly 40% of the chamber’s membership, and asked three key questions:
- What are the characteristics of your best employees?
- What are the characteristics of your worst employees?
- What skills will employees need in 10 years?
What followed was a year-long process of collaboration to refine and combine ideas until employers reached consensus. The result was the Future Ready Skill Set, a framework designed to help students develop essential skills like communication, adaptability, and problem-solving—skills employers consistently value.
“College is not a career; it’s a way to get to one,” Rick explained. “No matter what challenges arise during a student's future, they need to have the skills to navigate around it.” From this framework, Rick enabled schools to integrate these essential skills into their curriculum in ways they had never done before—opening doors for educators and businesses to start meaningful conversations about workforce readiness with a shared language.
Connecting Classrooms to Careers: Workforce Institute and Passport to Tomorrow
Rick Pearce is driving new initiatives to strengthen educator-business partnerships through the Workforce Institute. This program gives educators the chance to step outside the classroom and experience local businesses firsthand, helping them understand industry realities so they can guide students toward relevant opportunities.
This initiative complements the Passport to Tomorrow program, created in partnership with Middletown City Schools. Passport to Tomorrow formalizes collaboration between the chamber, schools, and local businesses to introduce future-ready skills into middle and high school curricula. Business partners play an active role by:
- Opening their doors for tours and events
- Delivering classroom conversations and career insights
- Advertising and recruiting at school-sponsored career fairs
- Serving as mentors or guest speakers
- Creating hands-on learning experiences that simulate real careers
The goal, as described by Jen Hayes, K-12 programs curriculum coordinator for Middletown City Schools, is to “erode walls” between schools and businesses—introducing students and potential employers to one another, with the school and chamber as the convener.
Looking Ahead
With these programs gaining traction, Rick’s next steps focus on strengthening educator-business partnerships and creating sustainable workforce pipelines. His story is an inspiring example of how Business Leads equips leaders to turn ideas into action.
Ready to help shape the future workforce? Learn more about the Business Leads Fellowship Program and fill out the interest form to receive information about upcoming cohort launches and events.
About the authors
Caitlyn Aversman
Caitlyn Aversman is associate manager of K-12 education programs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
Ava MacLaughlin
Ava MacLaughlin is an education and workforce intern at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
