Report from the U.S. Dept. of Labor National Skills Summit

Following are highlights from the U.S. Department of Labor's National Skills Summit, held in Washington, D.C. on April 11, 2000:

I. Introductory Remarks from Department of Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman: "There is no labor shortage; there is a skills shortage."

II. Keynote Speaker, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan: "Information technologies have begun to alter, fundamentally, how we do business and create economic value"

III. Business/Labor Partnerships: Cisco Systems and Communications Workers of America join forces to help fill the technology and telecommunications industries' "overwhelming demand for qualified workers."

I. Remarks from Alexis M. Herman, U.S. Secretary of Labor Employers across the country are facing the challenge of attracting and retaining labor. Yet according to Alexis M. Herman, U.S. Secretary of Labor, the situation is not due to a labor shortage, but rather to a skills shortage.

Secretary Herman recently hosted a National Skills Summit to address the issue. She states, "Even at our lowest unemployment in 30 years, there are six million Americans who are unemployed and looking for work. Four million more have stopped looking but want to work. Another three million are working part-time but want a full-time job. That's 13 million people." Herman believes that there are "millions of untapped workers in distressed rural and urban areas, among people with disabilities, young people, and others. These potential workers often lack the skills necessary to succeed in the new economy. In addition, workers are experiencing high rates of displacement, despite the booming economy and low unemployment rates." The aim of the Summit was to showcase and further develop strategies to help all workers acquire the skills they need for jobs in the 21st century workplace; to develop and exchange innovative, practical, and cost-effective strategies; and to develop partnerships for satisfying employers' immediate needs for skilled workers.

In Secretary Herman's words, "We must equip all Americans with the tools they need to succeed in the new economy, while at the same time provide businesses with the skilled workers they need to succeed in the global economy."

Secretary Herman was joined by keynote speaker Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, as well as corporate CEOs, small business entrepreneurs, leaders of organized labor and community-based organizations, trade association representatives, academics, workers, and government officials.

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II. Selected Remarks by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan: "The evolving demand for skills"

"The remarkable coming together of technologies that we label IT has allowed us to move beyond efficiency gains in routine manual tasks to achieve new levels of productivity in routine information-processing tasks that previously depended upon other facets of human input--computing, sorting and retrieving information, and acting on pieces of information. As a result, information technologies have begun to alter, fundamentally, how we do business and create economic value, often in ways that were not readily foreseeable even a decade ago"

"The rapidity of innovation and the unpredictability of the directions it may take imply a need for considerable investment in human capital. Workers in many occupations are being asked to strengthen their cognitive skills; basic credentials, by themselves, are not enough to ensure success in the workplace. Workers must be equipped not simply with technical know-how but also with the ability to create, analyze, and transform information and to interact effectively with others. Moreover, that learning will increasingly be a lifelong activity.

To read Chairman Greenspan's remarks in their entirety, click HERE.

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III. Business and Labor Team up to Find Creative Solutions: Communications Workers of America and Cisco Systems' Military to Work Project One presentation at the Summit was based on a unique partnership between Cisco Systems and Communications Workers of America, the largest telecommunications union in North America. The two formed a "Military to Work Project" to help fill the technology and telecommunications industries' "overwhelming demand for qualified workers." The project links experienced veterans with employers or helps them get the training they need to land good jobs.

Cisco Systems and CWA use the Internet to test, evaluate, and refer interested military veterans to telecommunications companies or help them enter training programs to learn high-tech skills. Now telecommunications companies such as AT&T, Lucent Technologies, US West, and numerous smaller cable, security, and alarm companies are tapping into this readily available pool of experienced workers.

CWA reports that more than 150 veterans have been placed in jobs and most have starting salaries of about $14 per hour. At the end of four years, many veterans will be making the top craft rate of about $56,000 per year. For more information about business/labor partnerships, click HERE.

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