Governor Pushes Training For Workforce, More Manufacturing Jobs

Education Enterprise will upgrade education and training.

Oregon's Governor says these students will contribute more to Oregon's workforce if the state contributes more to their educations now Photo By: Tim King

(EUGENE) - To increase the number of good jobs in Oregon, the state will pursue a strategy of developing a skilled and reliable workforce, while upgrading Oregon`s public education system and investing in job training to increase productivity and put Oregonians to work, Governor Ted Kulongoski told business and community leaders Monday.

`We must work to keep good jobs in Oregon," the Governor said. `We can do so only if we innovate, only if we respond to changing markets, the changing needs of customers, and changing global conditions."

Addressing the grand opening ceremony for a new research and development center built by Invitrogen, a leading biotech company that operates Molecular Probes of Eugene, the Governor said that education and skills training are the foundation of this strategy. To further the strategy, he has proposed revamping the way Oregon runs and pays for public education, from pre-kindergarten through college”using a concept called the `Education Enterprise."

In addition to combining all sectors of the education system into a single entity, the Education Enterprise would dedicate 61 percent of the state general fund to education, and guarantee a minimum 10-percent budget increase in every new budget cycle for each part of the enterprise. The program would also create a rainy-day fund to protect education from budget cuts whenever the economy takes a downturn and reduces state revenues.

Several weeks ago, the Governor announced his intention to present a K-12 budget of $6 billion to the legislature next year”a 12-percent increase over the previous biennial budget.

The increase in the K-12 education budget coupled with the Education Enterprise represent a `giant step into the future," the Governor said.

`First and foremost, it means we will put the days of cutting school budgets behind us forever. It also means the various sectors of the education community will no longer compete with each other for funding. It will provide stability, growth, and sustainability for all public education, from top to bottom," the Governor said.

The Education Enterprise won`t try to force everybody into a four-year college program, the Governor explained. `That`s not what Oregon needs. After all, nearly three-quarters of our state`s adults don`t have college degrees, and many of those don`t even want college degrees."

The Education Enterprises recognizes that working with your hands and making Oregon`s finest products is honorable work, the Governor said.

`It also recognizes that in today`s world, you must also be able to work with your mind. Every Oregonian needs a good education to succeed. Every student needs a strong foundation in math, science and reading to prepare for a job and career in the 21st century, even if he or she doesn`t need four-year degree."

The beauty of the proposal, the Governor explained, is that it answers real needs. `It will provide opportunities to the graduate-level researchers and engineers who will conceptualize the society of tomorrow. But it will also provide opportunities to the skilled trades people and workers who must pick up the tools and build that society," the Governor said.