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Remarks Delivered by
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
Stark State College Grant Announcement
Canton, Ohio
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And thank you, Dr. O'Donnell, for showing us this impressive facility!
I am delighted to be here again in Canton, Ohio, which I have had the great pleasure of visiting twice previously with Chairman Regula.
Before the Chairman and I arrived today, we visited a facility run by the Stark County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. The caring professionals we met are doing wonderful work, helping some of the county's most vulnerable citizens. They are providing skills training to students with mental disabilities, so they can find employment, lead lives of dignity and reach their potential.
Stark State College of Technology is another wonderful resource for this county. It is the largest of the five colleges and universities in Stark County. And it is a proven leader in providing high quality education for technologies associated with business, health care, information science, public service and others. Stark is creating the pool of talent that will be a catalyst for growth for this region for many years to come.
As you know so well, our country is evolving and is part of a worldwide economy. As this evolution continues, our nation is transitioning to a knowledge-based economy, in which higher skills and more education are at a premium. This transition has created millions of new jobs in industries that did not even exist a generation ago. This building is an example. The technicians and scientists working here will help develop prototypes of fuel cells that may revolutionize the transportation and power generation industries. Other growing fields include health care, information technology, biotechnology, geospatial technology, advanced manufacturing, financial services and education.
More than 5.5 million new jobs have been created nationally since August 2003 and the national unemployment rate is a low 4.8 percent. That's lower than the average 5.7 percent unemployment rate of the 1990s. The Canton area's unemployment was 5.1 percent in June 2006. And 33,300 new jobs have been created in this region since June of 2006. The growing sectors in Canton mirror the national trends — education, health services and the skilled trades, especially for construction.
But this new job growth comes with a caveat. Two-thirds of the estimated 18 million new jobs that will be created over the next 10 years will be in occupations that require higher education. Now higher education doesn't necessarily mean a four year college degree. It can be a two year degree from a community college or specialized training such as an apprentice program or the certificate programs offered by this college. In fact, some of the strongest demand is for workers with two year associate degrees such as those offered by this college.
Institutions of higher learning like Stark State College are helping to close the skills gap in our country. The skills gap is the growing mismatch between the skills of our workforce and the skills required for the new, high value-added jobs being created in our knowledge-driven economy. So let me commend the leadership of Stark State for working closely with employers, the workforce investment system and others in the community to ensure that the training offered is relevant.
To ensure workers are properly prepared to take advantage of these opportunities here in Stark County and nationwide, President George W. Bush launched the High Growth Job Training Initiative. This initiative brings together government, employers and educators to implement industry-identified strategies that offer solutions to their workforce challenges.
Chairman Regula is a champion of working families and a tremendous advocate for this initiative. We appreciate his hard work in ensuring continued funding for this program, which benefits so many community colleges across the country.
So I am delighted to be here with the Chairman today to support this pilot program to help out-of-school youth prepare to enter the growing financial services sector.
The Ohio Board of Regents is overseeing this grant, in which Stark State College and Jobs for Americas Graduates will be major participants.
At a national level, the project will develop a model to help out-of-school youth access training and opportunities in the growing financial services industry. It will help young people complete their high school education and place them in an entry-level job leading to a career or postsecondary education. Community colleges and financial service industry employers are critical partners.
In Canton, out-of-school youth participating in this initiative will be provided with an alternative route to a high school diploma by enrolling in Canton's innovative Choices High School. Once they are on their way to their diploma, Stark will enroll them in courses, so they can earn up to six college credits before they leave the program. Jobs for Ohio's Graduates (JOG), along with the Ohio Business Roundtable, will provide job readiness skills training and provide important connections to employers.
And the Workforce Initiative Association (WIA) will provide additional expertise and an additional $150,000 in funding.
So now, with Chairman Regula's assistance, it is a great pleasure to present this check for $1,178,425 to Dr. O'Donnell.
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