THE MANCHIN REPORT: 21st Century Jobs Forum Highlights Progress, Road Ahead
By Joe ManchinGovernor of West Virginia
Charleston, WV (HNN) -- Earlier this week, Gayle and I hosted the “West Virginia Competes: A Global Vision for the 21st Century” Forum at the Clay Center in Charleston.
West Virginia native John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems Inc., was the Honorary Chairman of the Forum. Ralph Baxter, CEO of Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe, LLP, and also a state native, served as co-chair. This event brought together more than 90 business and education leaders from across the state to discuss what we must do, both in terms of education and economic development, to compete in the new global economy.
We were joined by Emily DeRocco, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training, and Dr. Frank Levy, an economics professor at MIT, who provided valuable national and international perspectives. I am also pleased that two division leaders from the National Governors Association, Dane Linn and Steve Crawford, participated actively in this event.
The forum generated many good ideas on a range of issues: professional development for teachers, the use of technology to enhance student learning, the best ways to integrate workforce training with our economic development goals, and strategies for more effective outreach to students about the importance of higher education.
These ideas will help to shape the agenda of the new 21st Century Jobs Cabinet, co-chaired by Gayle and Ralph, as they begin their work next week. I look forward to receiving a report from the Cabinet later this fall with recommendations on education, economic development, and workforce training that we can use during next year’s legislative session.
The forum also highlighted some of our successes, such as the Department of Education’s implementation of 21st Century Skills and the power plant operations training program developed in partnership between Appalachian Power and our community and technical college system.
Assistant Secretary DeRocco complimented us on our high school graduation rate, which is well above the national average. The challenges we face are serious, but we should be proud of our achievements thus far and optimistic about what we accomplish going forward.
I appreciate the time, energy, and good thinking from everyone who attended the “West Virginia Competes” Forum. I am especially grateful for the input from two high school students, Rebecca Mitchem from Wyoming County and Andrew Koerber from Tyler County.
Rebecca and Andrew are articulate, thoughtful representatives of their peers across the state. It has been said that children may only be 20 percent of our population, but they are 100 percent of our future. My goal is to keep young people like Rebecca and Andrew in West Virginia to maintain an educated workforce and ensure a prosperous future -- in short, to compete and succeed in the 21st Century.