Co-Hosted by the National Chamber Foundation and TechiesDay
Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis, MN – October 2, 2000 – TechiesDay, the nationwide initiative that addresses our increasing demand for a qualified technology workforce, and the National Chamber Foundation will hold the first-ever Workforce Development Summit on October 3 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C. This Summit brings together the foremost leaders in government, business and education to spotlight the best practices and solutions to better prepare young Americans for a technology-driven future. According to The Office of Technology Policy at the U.S. Department of Commerce, in 2008 there will be nearly four million information technology jobs.
Headlining the program are The Honorable Richard Riley, Secretary, U.S. Department of Education, who will deliver the Keynote address as a reinforcement of his commitment to best training practices. The Honorable Norman Mineta, Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce and The Honorable Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), United States Senate will address the Summit during the concluding luncheon.
Confirmed business leaders include Thomas J. Donohue, President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Michael Fleisher, CEO, Gartner; Shelby Bonnie, CEO, CNET; and Dan Frawley, CEO, techies.com.
The premier Summit on workforce development, this year’s event will establish best practices for training a qualified workforce while also setting benchmarks for measuring success in 2001. As this year’s shining example of positive achievement, the TechiesDay Best Practices Award will be presented to Gene Longo, Director of U.S. Operations of the Cisco Networking Academy for its work in training and mentoring the future leaders of tomorrow.
The day’s ambitious agenda is marked by four concurrent breakout sessions covering the most critical influences on shaping a technology-ready workforce: Training Teachers to Tap Technology; Bridging the Digital Divide; Integrating Technology into the Classroom; Workforce Preparation. These discussions will be led by the most respected thought-leaders in their fields including Tad Asbury, Director, MCI WorldCom MarcoPolo Initiative; Wendy LaDuke, CEO and Co-publisher, T.H.E. Institute; Peter Joyce, Workforce Development Manager, Cisco; and Kelly Carnes, Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy, U.S. Department of Commerce.
“This Summit has become the annual benchmarking event to gauge how our country is doing in the fight to build a tech-savvy workforce,” said Thomas J. Donohue, CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “As the leaders in business, technology and education, it is our role to ensure the future competitiveness of our nation by ensuring that employees have the tools that will help our companies succeed and our economy grow.”
Summit participants will then participate in a Gartner e-Government Transformation Seminar, being held in Room HC-5 of the Capitol Building. During this session, Gartner experts will reveal thought-provoking research on the transformation required within our government so that the United States economy can continue to be a global innovation leader. The session will include presentations by Michael Fleisher, CEO, Gartner; The Honorable Tom Davis (R-VA); and Steven Barr, Columnist, The Washington Post, among others.
For more information about the TechiesDay Workforce Development Summit, visit www.techiesday.org. Coverage of the Summit, in addition to a roundtable discussion hosted by GirlGeeks, will be aired on www.girlgeeks.com.
About TechiesDay
TechiesDay, to take place on Oct. 3, 2000, is a nationwide initiative that addresses our country’s increasing demand for a qualified technology workforce. TechiesDay was co-founded by CNET Networks, Inc. (www.cnet.com), the leading content network providing news and information to buyers and sellers around the world, and techies.com, inc. (www.techies.com), the national authority on the technology workforce providing solutions that help companies plan for, acquire, and retain their technology workers. TechiesDay seeks to create technology career awareness, readiness, response, and achievement among students in grades K-12, while recognizing technology professionals’ contributions to education. In addition to CNET and techies.com, TechiesDay sponsors include AOL, Atomic Tangerine, BestBuy.com, Compaq, Gartner, GirlGeeks, Microsoft, Saba, Scientific Learning Corporation, TECH CORPS, and T.H.E Journal. To find out more about TechiesDay 2000, visit www.techiesday.org.
About the National Chamber Foundation
The National Chamber Foundation, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has as its mission to drive the policy debate on key issues by formulating arguments, developing options and influencing thinking in an effort to move the American business agenda forward. The Foundation serves policymakers and the business community by providing a forum where leaders can consider and advance new ideas that benefit American business. For more information on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Chamber Foundation, visit www.uschamber.com.
For more information, contact:
Amanda Britz/Erika Farber Andrew Howell
Connors Communications National Chamber Foundation
212.807.7500 202.463.5500
amanda@connors.com AHowell@USChamber.com
erika@connors.com