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ETA News Release: [08/27/2007]
Contact Name: Jennifer Kaplan
Phone Number: (202) 693-5052
Release
Number: 07-1316-NAT
U.S. Department of Labor hosts Energy Skilled Trades Summit
assistant secretary joins industry leaders, governors to address workforce needs in South
BILOXI, Miss. — Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour today convened a two-day Energy Skilled Trades Summit of industry leaders and members of the Southern Governors' Association to map and begin implementing strategies for meeting the industry's skilled labor needs.
Over the next 15 years, the power generation industry alone will invest an estimated $400 billion in dozens of construction and infrastructure projects in southern states. Although the energy industry employs more than one million people nationwide, it estimates that up to half its current workforce will retire within the next five to 10 years.
"Southern governors and energy industry leaders have a real opportunity to get ahead of the coming challenges and drive the changes necessary for sustaining economic vitality in the South," said DeRocco. "They will play key roles in positioning federal as well as their own resources to lay a foundation that attracts skilled craftsmen and women to the industry while advancing our nation's energy security."
Demand for energy and skilled trades workers is projected to increase steadily in the coming years, with many experts predicting labor shortages. Sessions held during the first day of the two-day summit will focus on solutions to meeting the challenges presented by this demand. Topics will include strategies for developing new recruiting tools, promoting career and technical education in schools, drawing on untapped pools of labor and accessing funding to support recruitment activity in skilled trades fields.
The summit's second day will feature sessions during which state delegations of workforce development experts, educators, and industry leaders will develop action plans designed to: raise community awareness about the coming skilled trades labor shortages and their impact on the energy industry's efforts to develop and maintain infrastructure; elevate the image of skilled crafts careers; implement new education programs for skilled workers; and align investments and workforce development initiatives to generate collaboration in growing the ranks of the nation's skilled trades workforce.
The Energy Skilled Trades Summit is being held in conjunction with the 2007 Southern Governors' Association annual meeting, which concluded this year with a roundtable discussion on "The Future of Energy Production in the South and Meeting the Workforce Demand."
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