| Press Release |
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| August 31, 2004 |
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Governor Kulongoski Declares September - "Workforce Development Month"
(Salem, Ore.) Today Governor Ted Kulongoski declared September “Workforce Development Month” to celebrate the many public and private job training and workforce development efforts and successes contributing to the economic health of Oregon’s communities through “WorkSource Oregon.”
“My administration is committed to growing Oregon’s economy and getting Oregonians back to work by aligning economic development, education, and workforce development,” said Governor Kulongoski. “WorkSource Oregon is one strategy to help us meet this goal and already it has proven successful by helping more than 200,000 Oregonians find work and providing workforce services to another 280,000.”
WorkSource Oregon is a network of public and private partners statewide – established by the Governor in partnership with the Oregon Workforce Investment Board –working together for businesses, workers, and job seekers to:
- Ensure businesses have a ready supply of trained workers whose skills and talents are aligned with the expectations and needs of business and industry;
- Connect businesses with the resources they need to grow their workforce and their business; and
- Provide the resources to help Oregon’s unemployed and underemployed get connected with the employers that are right for them, find the jobs they’re looking for, and get trained for jobs they want.
During the past fiscal year, regional Workforce Response Teams, in cooperation with local and regional Workforce Investment Boards and WorkSource Oregon partners, awarded 89 grants totaling over $3 million to Oregonbusinesses to enhance the skills of their current workforce, retain and grow jobs, and increase company competitiveness. As a result of the grants, over 5,000 Oregon workers will receive training in their work places this year in skills ranging from welding to information technology to high performance processes to leadership development. Employers must provide matching resources and retain jobs or create new jobs as a result of the training.
"We can’t have a strong economy without a well-educated and skilled workforce, and the best way to make sure we have a highly skilled workforce is through a system of lifelong learning that demands excellence, provides high standards, and offers citizens many options for training throughout their lives,” said the Governor. “By declaring September Workforce Development Month, I hope that more Oregonian employers and job-seekers will be aware of the opportunities that are available to help connect them to the jobs and workforce they need.”
Grants ranged from $650 to $250,000, and were awarded in all 15 workforce regions around the state. Three projects were funded for industry consortia (multiple employers) in the metals, recreation and food processing clusters, providing even greater leverage for public dollars. Of the 89 grants, 14 projects were in higher performance enterprise training (also known as lean), 4 projects included an English as a Second Language (ESL) component, 13 projects were funded in healthcare, 14 in metals/transportation equipment, 11 in agriculture/food processing, and 15 in wood products.
To connect to the WorkSource Oregon resources in your region, go to www.worksourceoregon.org and click on Businesses Start Here or Workers Start Here.
Media Contact:
Marian Hammond, 503-378-6169
Anna Richter Taylor, 503-378-6496
Proclamation
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