April 2004 | Vol. 22/No. 4

U.S. Secretary of Labor Announces $24.4 Million Health Care Initiative

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao recently announced a new national Health Care Initiative worth $24.4 million to address critical worker shortages in the industry.

“Today we are announcing the kickoff of a new $24.4 million initiative to help train workers for jobs in the high growth health sector of our economy,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “The Johns Hopkins Hospital and the State of Maryland will be the first recipients to be given the funds as part of the President’s High Growth Job Training Initiative. There is a critical need for new workers in the health care field and these grants will help provide the skills training needed to pair workers with new good paying health care jobs.”

“The health care industry is predicted to grow at a rate of 28 percent between 2002 and 2012, adding 3.5 million new jobs,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco. “This initiative will fund solutions to the worker shortages facing the health care industry today and in the future. The programs supported by these grants will serve as models to equip workers with the skills needed to hold good jobs at good pay and continue providing Americans with quality health care.”

The High Growth Job Training Initiative is a strategic effort to better prepare workers to take advantage of new job opportunities in high growth sectors of the American economy. Through executive forums with leaders of expanding industries, critical workforce gaps and issues are identified. Solutions, like today’s grants, are then created in cooperation with employers, educational institutions and the public workforce system