Chamber Welcomes Presidential Focus on Job Retraining

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Chamber of Commerce applauded President George W. Bush's announcement of a new initiative to help workers gain the needed skills and training to be competitive in the worldwide economy.

"The productivity and profitability of any business depends on workers who can do the job today and adapt to the challenges of tomorrow," said Bruce Josten, Chamber executive vice president for government affairs. "The President is right to focus on continued worker education and expanding opportunities for retraining displaced workers, which must be done with employers and employees working together to determine the most in-demand skills."

The Chamber noted that a skilled workforce is critical to job creation and economic growth and called on the administration and Congress to use the President's announcement to begin a bipartisan discussion on the issue. It pointed to reports from state and local chambers that show workforce development is among the top three concerns of their business members.

The Chamber's Center for Workforce Preparation has conducted surveys of small and medium-size businesses over the past three years in which employers have repeatedly reported difficulty finding qualified workers to fill skilled positions. More surprisingly, nearly 30 percent of employers doubted the skills of their current workers would keep pace with future demands.

"Businesses are creating high-wage, high-skilled jobs daily," Josten said. "We need a federal education and training program that combines employers' needs and workers' motivation to fill them."

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.

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