Chamber Hosts Students for Job Shadow Day

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The United States Chamber of Commerce will host 10 local Job Corps students during the sixth annual Groundhog Job Shadow Day. Job Corps is the U.S. Department of Labor's national training program for at risk youth. The Chamber's Center for Workforce Preparation is partnering with the Department of Labor and state and local chambers of commerce to provide students with a first-hand look at the skills and training needed in the workplace.

"Businesses that participate in events like today's benefit because they're making a smart investment in their future - a future when there won't be enough skilled, entry-level workers to replace retiring baby-boomers," said Beth B. Buehlmann, Chamber executive director of the Center for Workforce Preparation. "Skilled, educated, and experienced young workers are becoming increasingly valuable."

The Center for Workforce Preparation, in a grant funded by the National Job Corps Office, is focused on developing and strengthening relationships between state and local chambers of commerce and the business community, public workforce systems, and the 70,000 Job Corps youth that participate in Job Corps every year.

Job Shadow Day will place more than one million students at 100,000 participating businesses and organizations. During the week, middle and high school students will gain on-the-job experiences that will help them see how the skills they learn in school are put to use in the workplace.

"Nationally, increasing overall awareness of Job Corps and its potential as a workforce tool, is important to the local chambers' employer members," said Buehlmann. "All our surveys show workforce development and training at - or near - the top of every employers' concerns."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

# # #

03-14