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Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
Ribbon Cutting for the
Tuscaloosa Area Career Center
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Thursday, May 5, 2005
Thank you, Senator Sessions.
I am delighted to be here with you and Governor Riley, Dr. Johnson [Roy
Johnson, Chancellor of the Alabama College System] Dr. Alford [Tim
Alford, Director, Alabama Office of Workforce Development] and
your other partners to open this great new resource for Alabama's
workers.
I especially want to commend Senator Sessions and Governor Riley for
their leadership in strengthening government-funded training programs
and career centers like this one.
Right here in Alabama, more than 32,000 jobs were created in the last
12 months. 1,800 new jobs were created just in March. And the March unemployment
rate in Alabama was 4.7 percent, which is lower than the national unemployment
rate of 5.2 percent.
But employers tell us that they can't find enough workers with the skills
needed for the high paying jobs being created. The skills gap is a real
challenge that Alabama and our nation must face, if we want to remain
global leaders.
That's why it's critical to link our workforce training systems with
community colleges and employers like Alabama's aerospace industry.
This Center can help workers find industries where there is a shortage
of qualified workers, and get the training they need to land good paying
jobs in these rapidly growing industries.
This initiative is part of President Bush's High Growth Jobs Training
strategy. Its goal is to leverage community and federal resources so we
can close the skills gap and help workers build better lives for themselves
and their families.
So thank you for inviting me here today. And thank you for everything
you are doing to nurture our nation's most important resource: our workers.
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