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Archived News Release--Caution: information may be out of date.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

OPA Press Release: New Internet Link Will Help Companies Find Workers to Exterminate Millennium Bug [07/14/1998]

For more information call: (202) 219-8211 x 114

A new Internet site will link information technology workers to the companies which need them to solve the Year 2000 problem, commonly referred to as the "millennium bug" or Y2K problem. The U.S. Department of Labor, working with its state partners, has set up a specialized version of America's Job Bank and America's Talent Bank, the nationwide on-line services for posting job openings and resumes of all kinds. The new site, called IT and Year 2000, was announced today by President Bill Clinton and Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman.

"This cyber network will put the people with the talent together with the companies whose computer systems must be changed to address the Y2K problem," President Clinton said. "This is an important tool for confronting this challenge."

The software which runs countless computers must be revised before Jan. 1, 2000 because of a glitch which causes them to read the year 2000 as 1900, affecting critical date-sensitive functions. A shortage of qualified workers has delayed the process for some companies.

"The Department of Labor will help companies find the workers they need," Secretary Herman said. "We must turn the Year 2000 problem into an opportunity to ensure America's technological leadership."

The new web site opens with more than 90,000 job vacancies drawn from America's Job Bank and more than 12,000 resumes from America's Talent Bank. New job listings and resumes will be added daily.

The department and other federal agencies are making an all-out effort to expand the listings, contacting more than half a million businesses and encouraging them to use these tools. Other offices working to increase activity on the new site include the Departments of Commerce and Education and the Small Business Administration. DOL, along with the Office of Personnel Management, is working with the American Association of Retired Persons to encourage retired information technology workers to return to the job market. The Department of Defense is recruiting from its retired information technology workers.

The new IT and Year 2000 site may be accessed at http:// it.jobsearch.org or at the DOL home page, http://www.dol.gov. The site also is linked to America's Job Bank and America's Talent Bank. To post a job or resume, simply register and follow the on-screen instructions.

Another Labor Department Internet site, America's Learning Exchange, will provide an extensive listing of information technology courses offered nationwide when it goes on-line in September.

Archived News Release--Caution: information may be out of date.