ETA News Release: [July 14, 2005]
Contact Name: David James or Mike Volpe
Phone Number: 202-693-4676 or 202-693-3984
San Juan College Receives Recognition of Excellence Honor
Second Annual Honors Presented at Workforce Innovations 2005 in Philadelphia
FARMINGTON, N.M. - San Juan College received the top Recognition of Excellence (ROE) honor in the "Educating America's 21st Century Workforce" category at the Workforce Innovations 2005 Conference in Philadelphia. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco presented the second annual ROE honors, which recognize workforce investment system programs from around the nation that have achieved outstanding success. Honorees were selected from more than 100 applicant organizations nationwide.
"This year's Recognition of Excellence honorees exemplify the workforce system's capacity to develop new approaches for equipping workers with the skills necessary to compete in the global economy," said DeRocco. "These projects and the people behind them offer examples of success that colleagues in education and job training can replicate to meet workforce needs throughout the country."
The Employment and Training Administration presents ROE honors in five categories. The "Educating America's 21st Century Workforce" category recognizes innovative and effective strategies to prepare workers for the challenges of a workforce that requires higher skills and more education.
To address local workforce needs in the energy industry, San Juan College, in cooperation with local energy companies, created Regional Energy Training Centers (RETC), focused exclusively on the training and skills needs of oil and gas employers, incumbent workers and unemployed workers seeking entry to careers in the industry.
The project was initially expected to serve 400 WIA participants referred from One-Stops Centers. But through December 2004, it had dramatically exceeded expectations by training 598 unemployed and dislocated workers, more than 90 percent of whom went directly to unsubsidized employment. To date, the RETCs have been successful in providing training for over 5,600 unemployed, dislocated, incumbent and new workers.
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