Wilmington – Following President Obama’s State of the Union address, which focused on his vision for strengthening the workforce and growing the middle class by providing opportunities for all, Governor Markell issued the following statement:
“The President’s remarks focused effectively and powerfully on commitments that we must make together – in Washington and in states – to work toward our shared goal of ensuring economic opportunity for all Americans. Many factors are involved in creating these opportunities, but none are more important than access to quality education and job training. I was particularly pleased to hear the President’s emphasis on addressing some of our biggest challenges to strengthening our workforce now and for generations to come,” he said.
“Quality early learning has proven to be one of the most valuable investments we can make in a child’s future and our nation’s future economic competitiveness. The President’s plan would allow states to provide opportunities to many more children, and we have seen the positive difference this can make in Delaware with the increase in the number of low-income children participating in quality programs.
We also know that we must better align learning experiences with the skills that have the most value in the workforce, which requires following through on the President’s commitments to give students a more rigorous and relevant education in our schools and improve on-the-job training opportunities for our workers.
And the President recognizes that a high school diploma is no longer a ticket to a good job for most of our students. It’s critical that we build on the White House’s college opportunity summit, where Delaware was featured this month, to ensure students have the information and financial aid resources they need to take advantage of college options that best suit them.”
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