Speeches by Secretary Elaine L. Chao

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Remarks Prepared For Delivery By
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
Career Voyages Web Site Launch
Department of Education High School Leadership Summit
Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, October 8, 2003

I am delighted to join you at this very special event to launch the Career Voyages Web Site. I also want to thank the staff from the Department of Education, Department of Labor and Department of Commerce who have worked so hard on this important project. And I think you’ve done a great job!

The Career Voyages Web site is a very exciting new tool to help you—along with the parents and young people you guide—learn about high-growth industries and occupations and the skills that are needed to access these emerging opportunities.

But Career Voyages, as the name implies, is not just for young people looking for guidance. It’s also for adults who are thinking about changing careers or reentering the workforce, and for those who have never worked at all. In other words, it’s a lifelong learning tool that everyone can use to help bridge the gap between their education, their skills and also opportunities available in the workforce.

If you look at the screen, you can see what the Career Voyages Web site will look like when you click on www.CareerVoyages.gov.

And let me just tell you about a few of the special features you will find:

• Specific, detailed information about which occupations are growing the fastest, growing nationally and within each state.
• Second, you will also see career paths in high-growth industries.
• And third, you will see reports that show the wages, licensing requirements and growth rates for a lot of occupations.

We’re also very proud of the fact that the Web site has a lot of career videos and provides links to actual job opportunities.

Yes, some of the jobs and career paths displayed do require a four-year degree. But there are many other ways to get the training necessary for good jobs and these programs are easily accessible to those with a high-school diploma. They include on-the-job training, apprenticeship programs for the skilled trades, where there are great shortages, and 2-year professional degree programs available in local community colleges. So we think the Career Voyages Web site has a lot for everyone.

This Web site is part of a larger, more comprehensive effort to link the educational community with the world of work.

And we need your support, so that young people can learn about the many opportunities available to them and employers can find the skilled workers that they need to keep our country strong and competitive.

You know, wherever I go around the country, I speak with a lot of employers who tell me that skills level and education are so important.

So I hope you will click www.CareerVoyages.gov and—as the Web site slogan says—“climb aboard for the ride of your life.”

Have a great summit and thank you for allowing me a couple of minutes to show you this Web site. And thank you for everything you are doing to nurture and guide our young people. Your work is so important and will determine not only the future of our workforce, but the future of our country, as well.

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