A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

CONTACT: Camille Johnston              FOR RELEASE: December 6, 1994          U.S. Department of Labor          202/219-8211          Kerri Morgan          U.S. Department of Education          202/401-3026

PRESIDENT CLINTON, BUSINESS LEADERS ANNOUNCE BUSINESS- GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP TO PROMOTE SCHOOL-TO-WORK

President Clinton and 13 CEOs of the nation's leading companies today announced the creation of the School-to-Work National Employer Leadership Council (NELC). Members of the NELC are charged with implementing school-to-work (STW) programs throughout their companies and encouraging their suppliers and other companies to create their own STW programs. Founding members of the NELC include members of Fortune 500 corporations and medium and small businesses.

"The commitment these CEOs and their companies are making is a significant step toward increasing opportunities for students in every part of our nation," the President said. "Business- supported school-to-work programs provide companies with the chance to recruit and develop their future employees while helping to build and support the surrounding community."

The administration's School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWO) provides the framework to broaden educational and career opportunities for all students by encouraging partnerships between business and educational institutions at the state and local levels. It is jointly administered by the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education, and is aimed at combining classroom instruction with work-based training. STW programs help students make the connection between what they learn in school and what they will earn after school. The goal is to prepare all students for college or careers with a future.

Ford Motor Co. Chairman Alex Trotman will serve as the chair of the National Employer Leadership Council, which is made up of CEOs of America's leading companies who have banded together to develop and promote new and improved forms of work-based learning for young people in partnership with the Departments of Labor and Education.

"The members of the NELC recognize that it is absolutely imperative that the United States has a workforce which is fully capable of competing with any other workforce -- anywhere in the world," Trotman said. "There's no doubt in my mind that our school-to-work efforts will help achieve this."

The NELC's mission is to promote work-based learning opportunities for all students in America's schools in collaboration with other business organizations, school systems, public sector organizations, and state, federal and community leaders. The NELC also aims to enhance the quality of the nation's workforce and improve the productivity and competitiveness of American business in the global economy.

To help create a national school-to-work system, the departments of labor and education are providing start-up grants to states and local communities. In addition, the federal government, states and communities can build on programs such as vocational education, tech prep, youth apprenticeship, career academies, school-based enterprises, job training programs, and cooperative education to create STW systems and transform learning in secondary schools for all young people.

President Clinton signed the School to Work Opportunities Act into law on May 4, 1994. The legislation was developed in consultation with employers, schools, labor, community-based organizations, states and civil rights groups and was passed by a strong bipartisan vote of Congress.