| Speech by Governor Kulongoski |
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| April 27, 2003 |
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Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE)
Annual National Conference
Governor Theodore R. Kulongoski
Portland, Oregon
Sunday, April 27, 2003
Thank you Karen for your introduction.
I've been in public life for over thirty years, which means I've been giving speeches for over thirty years. And I've faced some pretty tough audiences. Just last Thursday, I gave a speech with my former boss, the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, sitting in the front row. But today I really need to be good because my daughter Kristen is here. One of the reassuring things about being Governor is that your children still call you Pop - and they still tell you: Don't screw up!
I know that this Commission on Adult Basic Education conference is actually being hosted by Oregon and five of our neighboring Northwest states. So on behalf of all six states, I welcome you to Portland. You come to this conference with a wide variety of skills. Some of you teach English as a second language. Some of you are program coordinators or state directors. Some of you are researchers and some of you are students. I say this only to point out the wide range of skills that are needed to have an effective adult education system.
Now consider the many other endeavors that are critical to our modern economy - from high technology engineering and manufacturing, to health care, to managing our natural resources. Each of these also demands a wide range of skills. This explains why basic adult education is so important in Oregon and throughout the Northwest. We cannot - and will not - have sustained economic growth without a skilled workforce.
That is why even though Oregon has been forced to cut over $1-billion from its budget - I am still making workforce development a major piece of my economic development strategy. We know, for example, that companies are unlikely to expand in - or relocate to - states that do not have high quality schools and a ready pool of trained workers. We also know that here in Oregon - and probably throughout the Northwest - there is a growing gap between the skills our workforce has and the skills that our industries need.
Time and again while I was running for Governor, and since I've become Governor, leading business executives tell me that one of their biggest concerns is finding skilled workers. Yes, we have thousands of unemployed Oregonians right now. Other states are also experiencing levels of unemployment not seen in two decades. Businesses are not doing much hiring. But the economy is going to turn around. I'm absolutely convinced of that. And when it does, these same businesses are going to want - and need - the right workers with the right skills. That's why closing the skills gap is essential to recovery and sustained economic growth.
Yesterday, I attended the opening of a new Intel manufacturing facility called D1D. Just walking through this facility was enough to justify my deeply held belief that Oregon's best days are still ahead of us. D1D will mean hundreds of high-tech jobs - the kind of jobs that this region needs more of, but will end up with less of, without strong community colleges and adult basic education.
The solution is not hard to figure out - even if coming up with the money is: We must invest more in workforce training. We cannot do everything we need to do. Our budget - like almost every other state budget - is shrinking even as our population is growing. But we can do more than we're doing now. In particular, making sure that our citizens know where to go for help to learn new skills - and employers know where to go for help to fill new jobs.
The best way to do that is with one-stop shopping. That's why I want an effective 311 program - to put workforce resources at the fingertips of both employers and employees. For adults looking to upgrade their skills, calling 311 will offer easy access to community colleges; our Incumbent Worker Training Program; and privately funded apprenticeship programs. For employers looking to upgrade their productivity and remain competitive - 311 will offer a single point of contact for finding employees that meet their needs, or finding programs that will retrain their current employees.
There are many other ideas for strengthening adult education, and I know that some of the best of them are going to be talked about at this conference. No one knows more about helping adults find a better life through a better education than you do. You are literally the experts on second chances. So I encourage you to be as creative as possible - and to share what you know not only with each other, but also with those of us in the public sector who are trying to reverse the downward spiral of our economies. We need your help. We need to hear from you. My office door is open. Actually, for one of your members - even the front door of my house is open.
I want to leave you with one last thought. Which is this: I don't believe that improving adult education is simply about helping businesses and turning around the economy. One of my goals as Governor is reverse the trend that leaves some citizens - and some parts - of Oregon moving ahead, while other citizens and regions of the state fall further behind. This divide does not speak well of our sense of fairness - nor bode well for our future. As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said "We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now."
Those words are even truer today than when Dr. King spoke them. Not only are urban and rural Oregon in the same boat now, every state represented at this conference is in the same boat now. We all need a well-funded adult education system. We all need more help from the federal government. Perhaps it's time to pass a federal 'Leave No Adult Behind' law - with money attached, not just mandates. We all need a new vision for adult education - and to understand the latest research and best practices. And we all need to strengthen partnerships among government, business, community colleges and organizations specializing in literacy and skills training.
In welcoming you here to Portland, I also ask you to use this conference to build exactly those kind of partnerships: To share your vision of adult education - and help those of us who believe, as you do, in economic opportunity for all, to make that vision a reality.
Thank you.
Contact:
Mary Ellen Glynn 503.378.6496
Marian Hammond 503.378.6169
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