U.S. workers need more training - GE chief

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Training Americans for practical jobs that the nation actually needs should be a government priority, according to General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt, who heads President Obama's jobs advisory panel.

"There are more than two million open jobs in the U.S., in part because employers can't find workers with the advanced manufacturing skills they need," wrote the GE (GE, Fortune 500) chief, in an op-ed piece co-authored with American Express (AXP, Fortune 500) Chief Executive Ken Chenault that was published in Monday's Wall Street Journal.

"The private sector must quickly form partnerships with community colleges, vocational schools and others to match career training with real-world hiring needs," they said.

Immelt, chairman of the President's Jobs and Competitiveness Council, also said the U.S. government should "cut red tape so job-creating construction and infrastructure projects can move forward."

Immelt and Chenault said the government should do more to facilitate small business loans and create jobs for two million unemployed construction workers.

Obama meets with Immelt and other members of the jobs council later Monday in Durham, N.C., to discuss ideas to help spur job creation. The meeting comes 10 days after a disappointing May jobs report.