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Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
Secretary of Labor
Elaine L. Chao
Home Depot/AARP Hiring Partnership Press
Conference
Washington, D.C.
Friday, February 6, 2004
Thanks, Jim [Jim Parkel, President of AARP].
It’s great to be here today with you, Bob Nardelli of Home Depot,
Bill Novelli of the AARP and our special guest, Bob Briggs.
This is not the first time I’ve been on the stage with these two
organizations.Home Depot is a leader in innovative recruiting and training
programs for workers and AARP is a leading voice for America’s talented
pool of older workers.
So I’m pleased to be here as Home Depot and the AARP Foundation
launch this new hiring partnership to recruit, train and employ older workers
in the 21st century workforce.
Home Depot expects to create 40,000 new jobs this year, and many of
those jobs will be filled with older workers because of this new
partnership.
This kind of initiative is critical as the American workforce ages and
reshapes the composition of the U.S. labor force.
Older Americans have a lot to contribute to our country.They have
valuable skills that are needed in the 21st century workforce.
All demographic data indicate that our country will face a shortage of
workers in the next two decades.
The experience and talent of this group of Americans need to be valued
and welcomed by offering flexible workplace policies.
The Department of Labor is pleased to play a role in this partnership,
which began in June 2002.Home Depot has implemented a Web-based application
process, which older workers can access through the Department of Labor’s
nationwide network of 3,500 local One-Stop Career Centers.
To date more than 12,000 workers have been hired through this ongoing
effort.
I also want to commend the AARP Foundation for the work they are doing
to help workers age 55 and older through the Senior Community Service
Employment Program.
The AARP Foundation is the recipient of a $75 million Department of
Labor grant under Senior Community Service Employment Program, which helps
disadvantaged older workers move into better jobs.
Today’s event marks a significant milestone: it is the first time a
company has formed a partnership with the AARP Foundation.I hope there will be
many more partnerships like this one to come.
As the economy moves forward we want to ensure that no one, especially
our talented pool of older workers, is overlooked and this initiative will help
make that a reality.
So thank you for your leadership.And thank you all you are doing to
ensure that our nation’s pool of talented, experienced older workers has
the opportunity to continue to contribute, if they choose, to our
workforce.
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