CGLG Annual Meeting Press Release - July 11,1997

[Jeff Edstrom <edstrom@great-lakes.net>]

NEWS RELEASE

Council of Great Lakes Governors
35 East Wacker Drive, Suite 1850
Chjicago, IL  60601

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jeff Edstrom (312) 407-0177

GOV. RIDGE CONCLUDES COUNCIL OF GREAT LAKES GOVERNORS MEETING
Industrial Site Reuse/Brownfields; Regional Competitiveness; and Workforce 
Development the focus of the two-day meeting


Erie, PA (July 11)  -- Improving the quality of the Great Lakes' workforce was 
the main topic of discussion among U.S. Governors and Canadian Premiers as 
they concluded the two-day Council of Great Lakes Governors meeting in Erie 
today.  The Council also announced the creation of the Great Lakes Guarantee, 
a program under which the Great Lakes states will recognize skills sanctioned 
in one state as applicable to all the Great Lakes states.

Led by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, the Council chairman, officials held 
three roundtables on July 10-11  - on industrial site reuse, regional 
competitiveness, and workforce development.

Ridge was joined at today's roundtable discussion by Governors O'Bannon (IN) 
and Voinovich (OH) as well as Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard.  Richard 
Florida, Professor at the Heinz School of Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon 
University and William J. Hudson, President and CEO of AMP, Inc. joined the 
Governors and Premier for the discussions.

The attendance of the Canadian Premiers, including Ontario Premier Michael 
Harris, reflects Ridge's commitment to bring a wider focus to the Council, 
which has typically included participation by the eight U.S. states that 
border the Great Lakes.

"Our dedication to working together as a region is demonstrated by Premier 
Harris' and Premier Bouchard's willingness to sit at our table as active 
participants," Ridge said. "As much as the Council believes that our global 
reach must first reach to our Canadian counterparts, the Premiers' presence 
demonstrates that their provinces' global reach must reach out to our Great 
Lakes states."

Following today's roundtables, Ridge led a concluding news conference, where 
the Governors announced the development of the Great Lakes Guarantee, a 
workforce development initiative that will certify skill standards for workers 
across the Great Lakes region.

The system is designed to ensure the quality and portability of skill 
standards in the region.  The new standards will be industry-driven and will 
include an assessment and review process for workers' skills.

The Guarantee is one aspect of the Council's Workforce Quality Initiative, a 
project led by Ohio Governor George V. Voinovich.  The project seeks to 
enhance the quality of life in the Great Lakes region by fostering economic 
ties; establishing education and training partnerships; and investing in the 
region's most valuable resource, its people, by enhancing career development 
opportunities.

"Industry -developed or approved skill standards are critical to our region's 
competitiveness," said Ridge.  "The Guarantee will help us ensure that people 
in our states have the skills necessary to compete and thrive in today's 
ever-changing world of work."

The Council of Great Lakes Governors is a private non-profit organization 
dedicated to the environmental and economic interests of its member states; 
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and 
Wisconsin.