[Comm-Council] FW: NEWS RELEASE: Governor draws connection between skills training, affordable housing

Tue Jun 6 16:45:39 PDT 2006

_____________________________________________
From: SHERWOOD Jodi L * Governor's Office 
Sent: Tuesday, June 06, 2006 2:51 PM
To: EXEC Net List
Subject: NEWS RELEASE: Governor draws connection between skills
training, affordable housing

Ted Kulongoski
Governor	           <<Picture (Metafile)>> 	
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2006

Contact:
Lonn Hoklin (503.378.6169 or 503.559.1034)

Governor draws connection between skills training, affordable housing
With Governor's help, 'New Columbia Main Street' and 'WorkSource Oregon'
provide link

(Portland, OR) Governor Ted Kulongoski showcased Tuesday's grand opening
of the New Columbia Main Street, one of the biggest neighborhood
developments in Portland's history, and the "WorkSource Oregon" Portland
Metro North Center, which is part of the complex-a place where job
seekers, workers and businesses can gain access to skills training and
job services.

"New Columbia is really about new thinking," the Governor said of the
development on North Trenton Street. "New thinking about affordable,
sustainable housing and workforce training." 

One in five Oregonians has trouble paying for housing, the Governor
noted.  To help solve this problem, Oregon Housing and Community
Services provided more than $6.0 million in annual low-income housing
credits, which generated approximately $60 million in funding for the
development of affordable housing in New Columbia.  When combined with
local and federal dollars, the credits will help eligible families live
comfortably and affordably in New Columbia.

"But today's ribbon-cutting is not just about housing," the Governor
said.  "And it is not just about creating a sustainable and viable main
street for New Columbia.  It is also about family wage jobs, and
training or retraining Oregonians to fill those jobs."

Most young Oregonians and older workers whose jobs are at risk want the
opportunity to acquire a marketable skill that can lead to a family wage
job, the Governor said.  WorkSource Oregon is where they can go to get
that skill.  For this reason, the WorkSource Oregon Center in New
Columbia, along with others like it around the state, are critical to
Oregon's economic future, he added.  

"Oregon is experiencing rapid job growth," the Governor said.  "We've
created over 100,000 jobs in the last three and a half years.  We have
the sixth-fastest growing economy in the country.  And in the Portland
metro area, we are projecting 270,000 job openings in the next ten
years-180,000 of which will be replacement jobs."

The state will need 700,000 skilled workers to fill openings created by
economic growth and retirements by 2014, the Governor said.  And how
will Oregon meet this demand for skilled labor?  

"By creating an education system that is second to none, a system that
meets the needs of every Oregonian, from pre-schoolers to older workers
looking for a second career," the Governor said.  "For the past year, I
have talked about my vision for a seamless system of education in Oregon
that begins with pre-school and continues on to K through 12, community
colleges, four-year institutions, and skills training."

The centerpiece of the Governor's vision for education is the "Education
Enterprise," which would give priority to funding public education and
provide for substantial increases in education budgets.  In addition to
emphasizing pre-school, secondary school and college, the Enterprise
would place equal emphasis on budgets for skills training and workforce
development, which the Governor says is critical to meeting the state's
need for skilled labor.

"I want Oregon to be the number one state in the country for training
and re-training," the Governor said.  "And I promise you-we will be!"

To achieve this goal, the Governor has begun developing strong
partnerships with business and labor, and creating a strategic plan, led
by the Oregon Workforce Investment Board, that will give Oregon a
globally competitive workforce.

Other parts of the strategy include aligning the skills of workers with
the needs of employers, leveraging federal and private funds, and
helping high schools and community colleges work together, so that
students who want a technical skill, a health care career, or a trade
can get the training they need.

"That is exactly what we're doing today at New Columbia," the Governor
said.  "WorkSource Oregon is an idea that I've been promoting for the
last three years, and it is absolutely critical to bringing new jobs to
North Portland and communities across this state."

The purpose of a WorkSource Center like the one at New Columbia Main
Street is to co-locate and integrate all workforce services in one
place, and to deliver those services in the most efficient way possible
to job seekers, workers and businesses.

-30-

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/pipermail/comm-council/attachments/20060606/f273d35c/attachment-0001.htm 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/bmp
Size: 30054 bytes
Desc: Picture (Metafile)
Url : http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/pipermail/comm-council/attachments/20060606/f273d35c/attachment-0001.bin 