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Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
Alaska's Initiative for Energy
Workers
Grant Announcement
Anchorage, Alaska
Tuesday, July 5, 2005
Thank you, Commissioner [Greg] O'Claray [State
of Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development].
And Chancellor [Elaine] Maimon [University of Alaska] for
opening this wonderful facility for this event.
And let me recognize Sen. Ted Stevens and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose
hard work promoting job creation and job training is really making a difference
for the people of Alaska.
And Dean [Steve] Rollins, of the University of Alaska Library.
Please convey my thanks to the University for the use of this wonderful
facility for this event.
Today, I am pleased to announce the award of a $7 million grant to the
State of Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. This grant
will help train workers for the great opportunities in Alaska 's growing
energy industry.
In the next eight years, Alaska is expected to create 43,000 new jobs,
which is a 14 percent increase in jobs. And it's critical that Alaska's workers are prepared with the skills necessary to access emerging opportunities.
As oil pipelines are built and new mines are opened, demand for workers
will increase not only in these industries but in the other supportive
sectors as well. Alaska will need skilled workers in the surface and marine
transportation industries and supporting infrastructure. Today's grant
will help prepare Alaska's workers with the right skills for these good
jobs.
This grant is a part of President Bush's High Growth Job Training Initiative.
This program creates partnerships that help local communities like yours
identify high-growth industries and train workers for these jobs. More
than 100 grants totaling more than $180 million have been awarded nationwide
under this initiative.
Wherever I go, I talk with employers who tell me that they cannot find
workers with the right skills to fill the jobs they have open. And that's
true right here in Alaska. The state's $3 billion in current energy
industry projects has underscored the gap between the need for skilled
workers and their availability. It's a real challenge. But today's grant
will help as this industry continues to grow.
And the training this grant provides will become increasingly important
as Congress moves closer to passing an energy bill.
Early in 2001, at the beginning of his first term, President Bush proposed
a comprehensive energy plan that would reduce our country's dependence
on foreign oil, increase our efficiency and modernize our energy infrastructure.
A few months ago, in April, the House passed an energy bill. And just
last week, the Senate passed an energy bill in an overwhelming 85-12 vote.
When a final energy bill is passed, it will create more new jobs and generate
economic growth.
Through the $7 million grant I am announcing today, the State of Alaska
Department of Labor and Workforce Development will partner with regional
education institutions and worker-training programs to ensure workers
get the training they need to fill these jobs.
The key partners include: Alaska Vocational and Technical Education Center;
the University of Alaska; industry associations; employers; contractors;
labor organizations; faith-based and community organizations; and Alaska's Job Center Network.
Now, it's my pleasure to present this $7 million check to increase training
for the workers of Alaska.
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