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Great Lakes Workforce Quality InitiativePress ReleaseCouncil of Great Lakes Governors
Erie, PA (July 11) -- Improving the quality of the Great Lakes’ workforce was the main topic of discussion among U.S. Governors and Canadian Premiers as they concluded the two-day Council of Great Lakes Governors meeting in Erie today. The Council also announced the creation of the Great Lakes Guarantee, a program under which the Great Lakes states will recognize skills sanctioned in one state as applicable to all the Great Lakes states. Led by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, the Council chairman, officials held three roundtables on July 10-11 – on industrial site reuse, regional competitiveness, and workforce development. Ridge was joined at today’s roundtable discussion by Governors O’Bannon (IN) and Voinovich (OH) as well as Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard. Richard Florida, Professor at the Heinz School of Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and William J. Hudson, President and CEO of AMP, Inc. joined the Governors and Premier for the discussions. The attendance of the Canadian Premiers, including Ontario Premier Michael Harris, reflects Ridge’s commitment to bring a wider focus to the Council, which has typically included participation by the eight U.S. states that border the Great Lakes. "Our dedication to working together as a region is demonstrated by Premier Harris’ and Premier Bouchard’s willingness to sit at our table as active participants," Ridge said. "As much as the Council believes that our global reach must first reach to our Canadian counterparts, the Premiers’ presence demonstrates that their provinces’ global reach must reach out to our Great Lakes states." Following today’s roundtables, Ridge led a concluding news conference, where the Governors announced the development of the Great Lakes Guarantee, a workforce development initiative that will certify skill standards for workers across the Great Lakes region. The system is designed to ensure the quality and portability of skill standards in the region. The new standards will be industry-driven and will include an assessment and review process for workers’ skills. The Guarantee is one aspect of the Council’s Workforce Quality Initiative, a project led by Ohio Governor George V. Voinovich, which seeks to enhance the quality of life in the Great Lakes region by fostering economic ties; establishing education and training partnerships; and investing in the region’s most valuable resource, its people, by enhancing career development opportunities. "Industry –developed or approved skill standards are critical to our region’s competitiveness," said Ridge. "The Guarantee will help us ensure that people in our states have the skills necessary to compete and thrive in today’s ever-changing world of work." The Council of Great Lakes Governors is a private non-profit organization
dedicated to the environmental and economic interests of its member
states; Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. |
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