In his remarks to the National Academy Foundation (NAF), Secretary Duncan emphasized the need to close the nation's skills gap by equipping all students to succeed in college and careers, and noted the value of providing rigorous and relevant school-based and work-based learning opportunities as a part of that preparation. Prior to the Secretary's remarks, business and industry leaders joined NAF officials to announce the launch of the NAFTrack Certified Hiring Partnership that will give students who complete and earn the NAF credential, one that is based on assessments linked to college- and career-ready standards, priority in these employers' hiring processes. The partnering companies include: HP, Verizon, AT&T, EMC, Juniper Networks, KPMG, RBC Capital Markets, US, Xerox, JPMorgan Chase, and Cisco.