Emily Stover DeRocco, Assistant Secretary of Labor

Florida Community College
Commencement Speech
Jacksonville, Florida

May 10, 2003

Thank you very much. To the Graduates of the Class of 2003 -- I am honored to be here today to join with your teachers, families and friends in celebrating your achievement. I know what an important and exciting day this is for you. It's my pleasure to convey to you not only my own congratulations, but also the best wishes of President George W. Bush and Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao.

You may have heard of Ben Stein, the actor and writer perhaps best known for his role as the teacher in the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." I hope I'm not dating myself too much by referring to it. But Stein is a very funny and very wise man, and he was once asked to share his secret of success. He replied by saying that "the indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want."

As I look around the room today, I see a room full of men and women who have discovered the same secret to success. You didn't get here by accident. You made a decision about what you wanted out of life, and you sought it out. You understood something that may seem obvious but in fact eludes many people: the most important thing you can do to get and keep a good job, and have a good career, is to get a good education. The degree you earn today is proof that you made the sacrifices you needed to make to achieve your goal.

Some of you are about to enter the workforce for the first time. Others of you are already working, but are preparing to embark on a new career, or to accept greater responsibilities in your current field. Still others will go on from here to continue your education at another school.

Whatever your plans might be, you can be confident that the training you have received and the skills you have mastered so far give you the foundation you need to succeed in the 21st century job market.

I can say that with some authority. My job as United States Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training gives me a unique vantage point from which to view the nation's economy, and to study the workforce issues that are so important to its continued growth.

I'd like to spend my time with you today talking a little bit about four key factors that are influencing the workplace of today and tomorrow.

First, it may seem like a distant, rather old-fashioned event, but the Baby Boom continues to have a profound impact on almost every aspect of American life. Nowhere is this felt more acutely than in the workforce. The youngest Baby Boomers are about to turn 40. The oldest are closing in on 60. As those of us who fall in between approach retirement, we will leave behind us a huge number of jobs to be filled. The fields of nursing, teaching, construction, and manufacturing will all be hard-hit. Nearly 7 million people who currently hold key managerial, professional and technical jobs may retire over the next ten years.

Who will take their place? You will. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the number of available jobs will increase by more than 22 million by 2010, but the civilian labor force will increase by only 17 million. This leaves a projected labor shortage of about 5 million workers, a situation that creates enormous opportunities for growth and advancement for workers who have the education, training, and skills to fill the gap.

Which brings me to the second key factor influencing the workforce, and that is the rapidly growing demand for knowledge workers - for people to fill jobs that require formal schooling. According to the Employment Policy Foundation, 99 percent of the 16 million net new jobs created in the American economy between 1992 and 2002 were filled by people who had at least some college-level training. Workers with advanced degrees have to keep learning and upgrading their skills to keep pace with the competition and open up new opportunities. Even people who hold traditionally blue-collar jobs in manufacturing now need specialized training to work with advanced robotics and computerized production lines.

When there aren't enough skilled workers to meet demand, attractive, high-paying jobs are left unfilled. But if you do have the required skills, your opportunities are better than ever before. Individuals who have at least some post-secondary education consistently experience lower rates of unemployment and earn up to twice as much as workers who have only a high school diploma.

The third key factor is technology. Just twenty years ago, the men and women who sat where you are sitting today were heading out to jobs that had to get done without the help of personal computers, laptops, cell phones, palm pilots, blackberrys, or the internet. Some people may yearn for that simpler time, but not me. These technologies have led to huge gains in productivity and efficiency. They have also made work easier and more flexible.

Long gone is the time when nearly everyone worked for a company close to home, in an office or plant, from 9 to 5. Today, many workers can telecommute from home to a company around the block or around the world. You have more opportunities than ever to work part-time, as a temp, or as an independent contractor if those options fit your needs and those of your family. The technologies that make this possible all came on line over the past two decades. Imagine what innovations the next 20 years might bring!

The fourth key factor influencing the workplace today is diversity. Minorities - Black, Hispanic, and Asian -- are the fastest growing part of the labor force, far outpacing non-Hispanic whites, and are rapidly increasing their representation in professional and managerial occupations This reflects the role immigration is playing in US population growth; in fact, in recent years, immigrants have accounted for about one-quarter of household growth. Women, too, are increasing their workforce participation. Women under 25 are now in the workforce in the same proportion as men, and women in their 30s and 40s aren't far behind. By 2030, women will have a larger share of management and professional jobs than men.

These four factors - the Baby Boom, the demand for knowledge workers, technological advances, and diversity - will play a big role in shaping the workforce in which you participate. The President understands how important it is for us to anticipate these trends and respond to them effectively. He understands how important it is to have a skilled and competitive workforce. Each year the Department of Labor invests $12 billion in taxpayer funds to build the skills of American workers, so we can be globally competitive and so individual workers can have good jobs, and good wages, with opportunities for advancement.

We also understand how important it is to create jobs and spur economic growth. The President's Jobs and Growth package is designed to do just that. A key part of the President's plan focuses on helping the unemployed get the training and supportive services they need to help them get back in the workforce. He has proposed new incentives called Personal Reemployment Accounts to break down the barriers to employment, and we are working to get his plan through Congress as soon as possible.

At the Department of Labor, we're working to make the workforce system more effective and efficient. We created a High-Growth Job Training initiative to link employers, community colleges and technical schools, and workers to ensure that people are being trained with the skills employers need. We're supporting apprenticeships and working to expand it to new fields such as information technology and health care. And we've launched a new web site, emergingcareers.org, to let people know about job opportunities in high growth careers that require some education and training, but not necessarily a four-year degree.

I've spent most of my time with you today talking about big trends and national initiatives. But today is really about you - about your aspirations, your goals, and your plans for the future. Today, you have reached a major milestone in your lives. What will the future bring?

As a result of the work you have done so far, and the efforts you will continue to make, you can look forward to careers that offer three important elements. One, you will have the security of knowing you have skills that make you employable, and more likely to be retained and promoted. Two, you will have the opportunity to do new, exciting, and challenging things in your work life, and move up a career ladder. Three, you have the responsibility to use your skills and training to make a difference for your family, your community, and the nation.

You might wonder how you will fulfill this responsibility - how your work in a field like information technology, or business management, or communications -- can make a difference. But George Washington Carver, a former slave who became one of our nation's preeminent scientists and inventors said that "when you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world." I'm confident that your education has prepared you to do common things with uncommon skill and integrity, and as you do them, the world will take notice. Godspeed.