Asst. labor secretary at Harper for economic symposium

U.S. Assistant Labor Secretary Jane Oates offered a cautiously optimistic outlook on the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression to more than 200 people gathered Monday for an economic symposium at Harper College.

Though 190,000 jobs were lost nationwide in October, it was the smallest drop since December 2007. The gross national product increased 3.5 percent. Home construction has risen 24 percent this quarter, Oates said.

But unemployment is also up to 10.2 percent - a level not seen in more than 20 years.

"I'm not sure we won't see double-digit unemployment for a significant while longer," said Oates, who heads the Employment and Training Administration. "Until we get job losses down to zero and begin job growth, you have to assume we're not going to see real improvement."

In her half-hour keynote address, Oates discussed emerging work-force needs and the role community colleges can play in strengthening the local economy. A panel discussion featuring six academic and business leaders followed.

The event helped kick off Harper's Engagement Week, which includes a series of programs to improve student success and increase work force and economic development opportunities in the northwest suburbs.

Oates, a former teacher who served as a senior policy adviser to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy and was nominated to her current post by President Barack Obama, defended the Recovery Act, calling it a successful first step.

She highlighted funding to state and local governments that allowed for furlough days instead of layoffs, the Cash for Clunkers program and the first-time homebuyer tax credit.

Oates also discussed where future jobs will be. In addition to health care and education - the only employment sectors growing nationwide - she talked about health information technology and environmental-related jobs as two emerging areas "on the horizon that didn't exist two years ago and will be in demand by next spring."

Meeting these new work force needs is where Harper and other higher education institutions enter the picture. Oates wants to see more apprenticeship models and co-op programs that provide real-life training.

"If four-year colleges don't start thinking about the occupational outcomes of their graduates, they're going to be the dinosaurs," Oates said.

Meanwhile, Harper and many community colleges are seeing record enrollment. Oates said their focus needs to be partnering not with large corporations but with small businesses because of downsizing and globalization.

Engagement Week continues today with more than 200 educators gathering to discuss effective high school-to-college transitions, college readiness and ways to ensure success for all students at all levels.