Dale Kildee: “I rise in strong support of the conference report on the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994. In today's highly…”

“I rise in strong support of the conference report on the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994. In today's highly competitive global economy, business performance is increasingly reliant upon the knowledge and skills of its workers. Changes in business structures and increased use of technology in the workplace require that today's entrants into the workforce be better education and more highly skilled. Mr. Speaker, I have some exciting school-to-work programs operating in my district which are successfully preparing high school students for the workplace. A joint partnership among General Motors, the UAW and Flint schools prepares students to enter skilled trades through a program that offers challenging academic and work-based components. Students in the manufacturing training partnership are learning skills that will lead to high-skilled, high-wage jobs. Other students from the Flint area are able to gain skills through a cooperative effort between Hurley Hospital and the Genesee Area Skills Center. Mr. Speaker, these programs are not only having a positive effect on the Students involved in them, they are having a positive effect on the community at large. In fact, school-to-work programs in Flint are considered an integral part of local economic development. I am pleased to support this legislation because I have seen the difference school-to-work programs make in students' lives.”