ETA News Release: [October 13, 2004]
Contact Name: Lorette Post or Ed Frank
Phone Number: 202-693-3984 or 202-693-4676
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao Announces $2.2 Million Automotive Grant
Award to AYES Is Part of $6.3 Million Automotive Industry Initiative
ROCHESTER, Mich. - Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced a $2.2 million grant to Automotive Youth Educational Systems (AYES) to recruit and train young people for careers in the automotive industry. The grant is part of a $6.3 million auto industry workforce development effort under the President's High Growth Job Training Initiative, a strategic plan to prepare workers for jobs in expanding industries. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco traveled to Rochester today to officially announce the grant.
"The automotive sector of our economy will be facing serious labor shortages in the next ten years and needs a pipeline of new workers to fill that gap," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "This $2.2 million grant will reach a new generation of auto industry technicians and prepare them with the kind of high-tech knowledge this changing industry will need."
Through business and education councils made up of automotive manufacturers, educators and local businesses, AYES has developed a school-to-career model program to recruit, train, and employ young automotive industry technicians. With this Labor Department grant, AYES will be able to expand beyond its presence in large metropolitan areas to other parts of the country, increasing annual enrollment from 3,000 to nearly 10,000. Using online and satellite systems, AYES will deliver a self-paced, customized curriculum. Participants will also receive hands-on experience in a state-of-the-art environment.
"Building a pipeline of qualified workers begins with building awareness of career opportunities," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco. "AYES has a longstanding track record of success in creating partnerships that recruit and train students in the skills today's automotive industry needs to remain competitive. These young people are the key to a healthy, high-quality future for America's automotive industry."
The automotive sector grants fund solutions to challenges identified by industry leaders and educators. Among those challenges are providing the technical skills training automotive workers need today; expanding the pipeline of youth entering the automotive industry; developing alternative training strategies, like apprenticeship, and disseminating content for distance and accelerated learning.
The President's High Growth Job Training Initiative is a strategic effort to better prepare workers for new job opportunities in high growth sectors of the American economy. Through forums with leaders of expanding industries, critical workforce gaps and issues are identified. Solutions are then created in cooperation with employers, educational institutions, and the public workforce system.
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