THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
CLOSING THE SKILLS GAP:
PRESIDENT CLINTON'S ADULT EDUCATION AND
FAMILY LITERACY, RE-EMPLOYMENT,
AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVES
January 28, 1999
Today, President Clinton Announces A $965 Million Three-Part Initiative To Close America's Skills Gap. In Putting People First, candidates Bill Clinton and Al Gore outlined a vision for lifelong learning, stating that workers should be "able to choose advanced skills training, the chance to earn a high school diploma, or the opportunity to learn to read. And we will streamline the confusing array of publicly funded training programs." Last year, President Clinton signed the Workforce Investment Act, transforming the job training system by streamlining services and empowering workers with a simple skills grant so that they can choose the training they need. However, more work needs to be done. Today, President Clinton is announcing that his FY2000 budget includes a $965 million three-part initiative to address the skills gap:
(1) A $190 Million Increase for Adult Education And Family
Literacy Initiative;
(2) A $368 Million Increase for Universal Re-employment
Initiative; and
(3) A $405 Million Increase for Youth Employment Initiative.
America Faces A Skills Gap. The evidence of a skills gap in
America is pervasive. On average, employers report that one out of every five of their workers is not fully proficient in his or her job. In manufacturing, 88 percent of companies are having trouble finding qualified applicants for at least one job function. And according to one recent survey, more than 60 percent of corporate leaders say that the number one barrier to sustained economic growth is the lack of a skilled workforce. More than half -- 56 percent -- of establishments report that restructuring and the introduction of new technology have increased the skill requirements for non-managerial employees.
The President's Budget Includes a Comprehensive Package to Help Us Educate and Train American Workers to Fill the Jobs of the 21st Century. This comprehensive strategy has three parts:
The goal of the Adult Literacy initiative is to bring Presidential
leadership and focus to a pressing national problem by demanding
improvements in the quality of adult basic education programs and
increasing funding to help States both meet the new quality goals
and serve more people. This initiative includes:
$95 Million Increase -- to $468 Million -- to Expand Adult
Education State Grants and Challenge State and Local
Governments to Join Us in Dramatically Increasing Program
Quality. By the year 2005 the President's goal is for the
Nation as a whole to: increase the number of full-time
teachers by 20%; double the number of instructional hours
per student; triple the number of computer stations available
at adult education centers; and more than double the amount
of child care and counseling services offered in Federal,
State, and local adult education programs.
$70 Million for an English Literacy/Civics Initiative. This
new initiative provides competitive grants to States and
communities for expanded access to high quality English
language instruction linked to practical instruction in
civics and life skills including how to navigate the
workplace, public education system, and other essentials.
$23 Million for "America Learns Technology." One of the
important keys to higher quality adult education is effective
use of advanced technology. This new initiative would
increase access to technology for adult learners by
supporting high quality software, pilot projects in 40
communities, and advanced research and development.
$2 Million for a "High Skills Communities" Campaign. The
President's campaign will mobilize States and local
communities to implement strategies to promote adult
education and lifelong learning. Part of this new initiative
provides up to 10 communities $50,000 awards annually for
achieving concrete results so that other communities know
what works and what doesn't work.
10% Workplace Education Tax Credit. Employers who provide
certain workplace literacy, English language instruction, and
basic education programs would be allowed a 10 percent income
tax credit for eligible educational expenses, with a maximum
credit of $525 per participating employee per year.
2. A Universal Re-Employment Initiative. The President's FY2000
budget makes a five-year commitment to our Nation's reformed job
training system. Specifically, President Clinton proposes to put
us on a path that ensures that within five years (1) all displaced
workers will receive the job training they want and need; (2) all
people who lose their jobs due to no fault of their own will get
the re-employment services they need; and (3) all Americans will
have access to One-Stop Career Centers. This initiative includes:
$190 Million Increase In Dislocated Worker Program to Put
Us On Track To Ensure All Dislocated Workers Get The Training
They Need. Since 1993, dislocated worker funding has been
expanded by 171 percent -- helping to serve 689,100 workers
this year, well more than double the 306,300 workers served
in 1993. The President's FY2000 budget increases funding for
the dislocated worker program by $190 million -- helping to
serve an additional 169,400 workers this year. This would
put us on path to ensuring every dislocated worker can get
the job training he or she needs.
Expansion of Employment Service To Put Us on Path To Ensure
All That Those Who Lose Their Jobs Due to No Fault of Their
Own Get the Re-Employment Services They Need. Today, many
workers do not get the job search assistance or other types
of re-employment services they need. Therefore, the
President's FY2000 budget expands the budget of the
Employment Service (ES) to put us on a path to serve within
five years the 1.4 million people who lost their jobs due to
no fault of their own and do not receive the re-employment
services they need.
Providing Every American Access To One-Stop Career Centers --
Helping Americans Make Informed Decisions About Their Futures.
As part of the Workforce Investment Act, every area of the
country will have a One-Stop Career Center. Now, we must
ensure that every American has access to the information
available at the One-Stops. The President's budget does just
that -- providing $65 million to take the following steps:
- First, the President's budget would put in place a
system so that the unemployed get job leads the moment
they apply for Unemployment Insurance -- transforming
our unemployment system into a re-employment system.
- Second, the plan creates a nationwide toll-free
telephone system so that all workers can find out what
services are available and where they can go to receive
them. Every American will have universal access to the
services and programs available through One-Stop Career
Centers.
- Third, the plan ensures that workers can get job search
information at 4,000 Community-Based Organizations.
- Fourth, the plan creates 100 new mobile One-Stop Career
Centers -- designed to bring the information and
services to rural residents and help the Labor
Department's existing rapid response teams provide
workers the information they need to get back to work.
- Fifth, the plan includes funds to help the disabled and
the blind benefit from One-Stop Career Centers,
including a talking America's Job Bank (AJB), which will
be developed in conjunction with the National Federation
for the Blind.
3. Initiatives for Disadvantaged Youth. Dealing with the problems of
at-risk youth is one of the major challenges facing our Nation.
In December 1998, the national unemployment rate was just 4.3
percent -- the lowest peacetime level in 41 years. However, while
the unemployment rate among African-American teens (aged 16-19)
also reached its lowest peacetime level in four decades, it was
still 6.5 times higher than the national average and much higher
than the rate for white youth. The goal of the youth employment
initiative is to fund promising approaches to increase the
educational attainment and employment rates of disadvantaged youth.
In addition to an increase in JobCorps and another $250 million
investment in Youth Opportunity Areas, this initiative includes:
YouthBuild Expanded by More than 75 Percent. The President's
FY2000 budget expands YouthBuild by $32.5 million -- more
than 75 percent. This provides $75 million for a program
that provides disadvantaged young adults with education and
employment skills by rehabilitating and building housing for
low-income and homeless people.
New $100 Million "Right-Track" Partnerships To Reduce
Drop-Out Rate. The President's balanced budget provides $100
million for "Right Track Partnerships" to promote
partnerships between schools, employers, and community-based
organizations that devise innovative community-wide
approaches to increase the rate at which economically
disadvantaged and limited-English proficient youth complete
and excel in high school and subsequently increase the rate
at which these youth go on to post-secondary education,
training, and higher paying careers. This new proposal
builds on last year's Hispanic Education Action Plan, which
received nearly $500 million for FY1999.
Doubles GEAR-UP for College Program. President Clinton's
balanced budget doubles funding -- from $120 million in FY99
to $240 million in FY2000 -- for the GEAR UP program that
supports both States and partnerships between high-poverty
middle or junior high schools and colleges to help low-income
children prepare for and enroll in college. In 2000, GEAR UP
would reach 381,000 students.
New $50 Million Regional Youth Employment Initiative. The
President's balanced budget provides $50 million for a
Regional Empowerment Zone Program to assist urban Empowerment
Zones and Enterprise Communities (EZ/ECs) in linking their
economic development strategies to their broader metropolitan
regional economies in order to increase the employment of
disadvantaged youth.
$65 Million to Prepare Disadvantaged Youth for Success in
College. The President's budget will include a $30 million
increase in federal TRIO programs, including Upward Bound,
to fund outreach, counseling, and educational support to
help disadvantaged students prepare for academic success in
college. The budget will also include $35 million for a new
initiative to help disadvantaged students stay in college
and earn diplomas.
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