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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-6871
President Clinton and U.S. Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman announced a
$1.2 million planning grant to initiate the training and placement of
dislocated workers in information technology (IT) jobs in the metropolitan
Washington, D.C., area. The grant will be administered by the Commonwealth of
Virginia as part of a collaborative effort among the Commonwealth, the State of
Maryland and the District of Columbia to develop a regional plan to fill
shortages of skilled workers in the IT industry. The three jurisdictions will
work together to identify interested IT employers, create customized training
strategies and then match the newly skilled workers with jobs.
"This Administration is exploring all options to keep our economy moving
forward," said the President. "While the Congress is debating whether to
increase the number of visas for foreign workers coming into the United States,
our central focus is on American workers. We must make sure they have a chance
to get the skills, education, and opportunity they need for good, high-paying
jobs in high-technology and other growth sectors."
"We must give American workers the first crack at these good jobs," said
Herman. "And if that means training and teaching news skills to those who have
lost jobs through downsizing,then that ought to be our priority. This project
is a unique approach to engage employers in developing and implementing
training strategies to meet their needs for skilled information technology
workers."
The award will be used to begin training and placement of more than
3,000 workers in high-wage jobs in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area
during the next four years, and enhance existing re-employment services for
dislocated workers. Five pilot projects with area IT employers will be created
to test and refine this multi-jurisdictional training and job-placement
project, as well as to gather information identifying the priority employment
opportunities and their job performance requirements. The D.C. Metropolitan
Area Technology Initiative will be administered by a management team
representing the two states and the District.
The grant is authorized under the dislocated worker program, or Title
III, of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). The dislocated worker program
is a comprehensive retraining approach to assist workers who have been, or are
about to be, laid off for reasons such as technological change, foreign
competition or government actions. Generally such workers are eligible if they
are unlikely to return to their previous industry or occupation.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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