Emily Stover DeRocco Speech
2005 CAEL International Conference
November 11, 2005
Chicago, IL
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One major concern is that our nation’s education pipeline “leaks” over time. According to the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, for every 100 young people who enter 9th grade, only 67 graduate from high school within four years; of those only 38 enter college, 26 are still enrolled in college after their sophomore year and 18 graduate with either an associate degree or bachelors within 150 percent of the required degree time. These numbers are even more troubling for African Americans and Hispanic youth.
A second area of concern is that we are not adequately preparing students for postsecondary education. A recent study of the ACT found that less than half of high school students graduate ready for college-level math and science. About one in three college freshmen takes at least one remedial course in reading, writing or math. In urban community colleges, that percentage can be as high as three in every four new students.
The Bush Administration is tackling these issues related to economic competitiveness and education from different angles.
Last month I had the opportunity to join with Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and representatives of other federal agencies, university presidents, CEOs, policymakers, and researchers at the first meeting of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education. We will address such questions as:
- How accessible is higher education? Who will be the college student of tomorrow?
- Why is the cost of college rising so rapidly and how can we make college more affordable?
- How well are the institutions of higher education preparing our students for the workforce of the 21st century? Will our students have the skills to be leaders in the public and private sectors? How do know what we are getting for our investment in higher education?
- How can we ensure America remains the world’s leader in innovation and research?
Secretary Spellings has asked for a final report by next summer with specific findings and recommendations. She would like us to build on existing reports and studies such as the National Commission on Accountability in Higher Education, the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education and the report of the Council on Competitiveness.
Our solution must include the community college system. Community colleges are flexible, demand-driven institutions that are on the front line of preparing workers – both young people just out of high school, and more experienced workers retraining for new careers – for the innovation economy of the 21st century.
Community colleges offer a wide array of both academic and technical courses and many have established partnerships with local employers to ensure the training they deliver leads directly to a job and career pathway.
On October 19, the Department of Labor awarded $125 million to 70 community colleges competing for the President’s first Community-Based Job Training Grants.
This initiative was first introduced by President Bush in his 2004 State of the Union Address. The grants support workforce training for high growth industries through the nation’s community and technical colleges. Projects receiving funding cover industries ranging from health care and construction to advanced manufacturing and energy.
Funds will be used to:
- Increase the capacity of community colleges to provide training in a local high growth, high demand industry through activities such as the development of training curricula with local industry, hiring qualified faculty, and arranging on-the-job experiences with industry.
- Train new and experienced workers in identified high growth, high demand industries, with the aim of employing and/or increasing the retention and earnings of trained workers, while meeting the skill needs of businesses.
These grants are modeled after the President’s High Growth Job Training Initiative. The High Growth Initiative is our flagship effort to transform the public workforce system into an integrated, employer-focused, talent development system that is responsive to the dynamic needs of the local economy.
We have learned a great deal about the potential power of the resources of the public workforce investment system through the HGJTI and the Community College initiative. And we know that our nation’s competitiveness in the global economy depends in large measure on success in regional economies…at the front line, so to speak. So, our next step in the talent development arena will be in supporting educational and workforce development programs that drive innovation in regional economies. We are excited about this new initiative and our opportunity to help regional economic development leaders create workforce innovations.
Finally today, I would like touch on an area in which CAEL has provided much leadership: career learning accounts that empower individuals by giving them more flexibility, more personal choice and control over their job search and career. Examples of these include:
- Personal Reemployment Accounts – A demonstration we are conducting designed to support quicker return to work and direct access to training and other services for unemployed workers who are most likely to exhaust UI benefits;
- Worker recovery accounts that the President has called for as part of the Gulf Coast recovery; and
- Lifelong Learning Accounts – Employer matched individual asset accounts to finance lifelong learning so that workers can achieve their career goals and advance into family-sustaining jobs.
The Administration is very interested in such accounts as a key component of an ownership society. These accounts are designed to promote individual choice; they empower individuals in making decisions about their careers.
All of these initiatives are designed to make talent development an integral part of economic development. If we are successful, workers and employers will benefit and we will spur the economic growth required to maintain our leadership of the global economy.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. I am proud that CAEL is part of these efforts and I forward to working with you in the future.
