Opportunities Conference

Marriott Wardman Park, Washington, DC
9:45 - 10:30 am, September 25, 2003

Thank you. It's a great pleasure for me to be here today.

There's a famous saying from that wise, old philosopher, Pogo - remember him from the comic strip? Pogo says "we have met the enemy, and it is us." As I look around this forum today, a variation on his observation comes to my mind -- "we have met the future, and it is here." The men and women in this room really are the future of America's economic development, job creation, and prosperity.

As Asian Pacific and Hispanic-American businessmen and women, as entrepreneurs and inventors, you are building the enterprises and creating the jobs of the 21st century. And as representatives of the fastest-growing segments of the US population, you are building the families and communities that will help lead our nation in the new millennium.

Our job at the Department of Labor is to put the resources of the workforce investment system to work for you. We are working hard to reach into the Asian Pacific and Hispanic communities to tailor our programs to your unique needs, overcome language barriers and educate workers and employers about their rights under the law.

Our goal is to ensure that every available worker has the education, training, and skills to fill the jobs of the 21st century - the jobs you are creating -- and that no worker is left behind.

To reach this goal we are bringing together the resources devoted to employment, education and economic development. We call this linkage the "power of e-three." By multiplying the power of each of these "E's", we can produce the kind of individual advancement that equals progress for the nation as a whole.

What sort of resources do we have to bring to the task? At the federal level we invest $15 billion each year providing employment and job training services to people who need them. That's more than enough to make a difference - if we use the resources as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Our challenge, then, in practical terms is to be the matchmakers to the markets of the future - training today for the jobs and opportunities of tomorrow. Our High-Growth Job Training Initiative does just that. It's based on a simple and straightforward premise: the workforce training system must be demand-driven, we must view the system and resources as economic development tools, and training programs must be aimed at real opportunities in industries experiencing rapid growth. We have to be training people to fill the jobs that you - and others like you - need filled.

What might those jobs and opportunities be?

You might be surprised by the answer. When we look back one hundred years, we find that many, if not most Americans were working in jobs and industries that don't exist anymore. You don't see much demand for milk-cart drivers or icemen in the "help wanted" pages today - and tomorrow, many of today's popular jobs will be obsolete.

American innovation, invention, and entrepreneurial risk-taking replaced the industries and jobs of the past with new and better jobs and more efficient and productive industries. That process fueled America's economic prosperity, and that process continues today with new industries. Futuristic sounding industries like nanotechnology, geospatial, and biotechnology are now the cutting edge of American business. These business ideas are being incubated in universities and research laboratories all across America and then spinning out into small businesses and growth industries. These and other fields such as health care and information technology are where the jobs of the 21st Century will be.

Yet already, many of these jobs are going unfilled because there aren't enough people who have the training to fill them. And while many of them do require a four-year degree, in plenty of cases, a two-year degree from a community college or technical institution - or an apprenticeship that combines on-the-job training with some classroom instruction - can prepare workers for the high-skill, high-wage positions these industries offer.

That's why we are working closely with community colleges, secondary and technical schools, and apprenticeship programs to match the programs they offer with the skills America's emerging industries need. We're working closely with business and communities to leverage the value of their investments in economic development and growth. And we are working with the business community to make sure that the $15 billion workforce investment system is helping to train people for the jobs they need to fill if they are to grow and remain competitive in a global economy.

In his speech on Labor Day, President Bush expressed his optimism in America's future - and optimism he says stems from what he has seen of the American spirit -- "the determination and the will, the willingness to work hard, the willingness to place family above self, and the willingness to serve something greater than your self." These are the qualities that define all Americans, whether their families have lived here for generations or have only just come to our shores. Asian Pacific and Hispanic Americans like you renew this spirit and foster the innovations and inventions that make our economy grow and prosper. What will tomorrow's innovations be? No one knows for sure. But if we continue to invest wisely in America's workers we'll be prepared for every opportunity to build the next rung on the ladder of economic growth, job creation, and national strength.

Thank you very much.