[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 5, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1002-E1003]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         EDUCATION AND TRAINING

                                 ______


                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 5, 1996

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert my Washington 
Report for Wednesday, June 5, 1996, into the Congressional Record.

               Education and Training in Southern Indiana

       After years of stop and go growth with periods of high 
     inflation and high unemployment, the U.S. economy seems to 
     have settled into a state of moderate growth during the past 
     five years, with low inflation and unemployment and steady 
     job creation. Southern Indiana has benefited from these broad 
     economic trends. Almost 50,000 new jobs were created in 
     Indiana last year and the state unemployment rate fell to 
     4.6%, a full point below the national average.
       But new challenges for businesses and workers lay ahead, as 
     rapid changes in technology, new ways of delivering services, 
     and tough foreign competition alter the economic landscape 
     across the U.S. and in southern Indiana. Last September, 
     during two roundtable discussions I held in Batesville and 
     Corydon, several local business leaders told me that the most 
     important thing we can do to meet the challenges ahead is to 
     improve the educational system in southern Indiana for our 
     young people and expand the opportunities for current workers 
     to acquire new skills.
       To follow up, I recently held two additional roundtable 
     discussions in Scottsburg and Jasper to explore what is being 
     done locally to imrove education and job training. The 
     discussions were encouraging. The school systems, colleges, 
     local development corporations, and private companies 
     represented in the discussions all seem to be taking the 
     problem of workforce quality seriously and are doing some 
     innovative things to ensure high quality education and job 
     training in southern Indiana.


                  improving the high-school curriculum

       Local school systems are making significant changes to 
     improve the quality of public education. Many are adding 
     courses, raising requirements, and expanding teacher 
     training. Some, like Union County, will be requiring students 
     to show competency in four skill areas to graduate, using 
     both written and oral exams. Programs for students not going 
     to college are being upgraded by making the courses more 
     relevant to today's job market and by integrating them with 
     postsecondary vocational programs.


        improving school-to-work and career counseling programs

       Some school systems are developing innovative ways for 
     students to test the world of work before graduation. For 
     example, one school system has developed school-to-work 
     labs allowing young people to learn and build job skills 
     through actual on-the-job experiences. Others are starting 
     career counseling as early as elementary school to 
     acquaint students with different occupations. Some schools 
     are putting more resources into counseling programs for 
     students not going to college.


               strengthening business-school partnerships

       In many communities, businesses are taking a more active 
     role in working with schools. In Batesville, a business-
     school-community partnership has raised more than $1 million 
     to buy computers for the local schools. The Scott County 
     Manufacturers Forum has developed a workforce competitiveness 
     strategy with the schools which includes an agreement that 
     employers will get a high school diploma or GED as a basic 
     job requirement. There is also a summer jobs program where 
     youth learn about various jobs by ``shadowing'' workers and a 
     learning exchange program where teachers and private 
     employers spend some time in each other's workplace.


                     improving vocational education

       Some impressive developments in vocational education are 
     occurring at both the high school and college levels in 
     southern Indiana. Ivy Tech in cooperation with local 
     development corporations has created customized training 
     programs for local employers, like running a basic skills 
     program at one company or training 250 people for welding 
     jobs at another. Some favor the tech prep program, under 
     which a student can begin a vocational program during the 
     last two years of high school and finish it with two years of 
     study at a college like Ivy Tech.


                    using the internet for education

       Technology is making major changes in how students acquire 
     information about the world around them. The Wilson Education 
     Center in Charlestown has set up an area-wide project 
     providing Internet services to schools in southern Indiana, 
     giving 4,500 teachers and 75,000 students in grades K-12 
     access to educational information from around the world. The 
     Southeastern Indiana Rural Telephone Cooperative is also 
     providing Internet access to schools.


                    greater use of distance learning

       Technology is also making it possible for college students 
     to take courses and earn degrees from distant colleges and 
     universities. The Southeastern Indiana Electronic Campus has 
     been set up--a unique system of higher education with 10 
     learning centers offering 150 courses and more than a dozen 
     degree programs by two-way TV. At Vincennes University Jasper 
     Center, students can use the Indiana Higher Education 
     Television Service to earn an MBA from Ball State University, 
     or to take courses in the Purdue Continuing Education 
     program, or soon to earn a nursing degree from the University 
     of Southern Indiana.


                   better lifelong learning programs

       Steps are also being taken to help older workers upgrade 
     their skills as the economy changes. Colleges are rearranging 
     their schedules to provide more courses during evening and 
     weekend hours. Local communities are setting up adult 
     education centers, where older workers can take courses and 
     earn their GED. One-day non-credit courses focus on specific 
     skills, like learning how to use a computer.
       While much progress has been made in these and other ways 
     to improve education and job training in our area, the 
     roundtable participants still found room for improvements. 
     Business representatives talked about the need to instill a 
     good work ethic in younger workers and said that schools 
     should focus on teaching good basic skills--math, reading, 
     communication--while businesses should focus on specific job 
     training. Other suggestions included even better 
     communication between businesses and the

[[Page E1003]]

     schools, allowing certain vocational courses in high school 
     to count toward postsecondary technical degrees, more 
     cooperation at the college level to let students transfer 
     credits among institutions, and more teacher training on how 
     to use computers and the Internet as learning tools.
       I am impressed by the programs and activities being 
     developed in southern Indiana to improve the quality of our 
     workforce. In today's highly competitive world economy, the 
     best investment we can make is in the quality and skills of 
     our workers and I believe we are making significant progress 
     in southern Indiana.

                          ____________________