Statement by Governor of California Arnold  Schwarzenegger and Microsoft Vice President Lewin.

Ever since I have come into office, the last six years, we've been talking about job creation. Now, it happens to be that we were very successful to bring the economy back in the beginning and to create a million new jobs between 2003 and 2007.

But then all of a sudden we got hit by another recession and again a lot of people in California and all over the United States lost jobs. And as a matter of fact it was a world recession and people all over the world are struggling. I mean, you read papers and articles about Ireland and you read about Greece and about Germany, England and all the different kind of countries that have problems with their economy and with people losing jobs and so on.

So I think it is a very important issue. To me it's the most important issue, because jobs mean so much more than just, you know, getting paid. And this is why it's nice to come up here to Silicon Valley. I always like to come to Silicon Valley because I think that here we have so many talented people. I mean, this is the 21st century economy that is unfolding right in front of us here. And you have so much innovation here and so much intelligence and I feel every time I come through here I gain 10 percent of my IQ goes up, you know? (Laughter) So this is why you see me a lot of times coming to Silicon Valley.

But, of course, I'm very proud that California has so many highly trained and highly skilled workers like all of you here. Our workforce is one of the reasons that we are the world leader in technology. And, of course, I'm always a person that -- we never rest on our laurels. We always should push for more, push the envelope, faster, bigger, stronger, more innovative and so on. And that means building on the technology skills that many workers already have. That's what we want to do. And I think this is what this program that Microsoft does is all about, is to build on the knowledge people have, the e-training and the e-training for better skills and getting jobs.

Even more importantly, we want to put people to work. There are so many people that lost jobs in this economic downturn, like I said and this is why it's so important to put them back to work. And this is why I always say, "Jobs, jobs, jobs."

Many of you are aware that in high technology there are a lot of jobs available but the people don't have always the skills. So this is why Microsoft started this program and this program has been highly successful, I was told, in 12 other states, which is Elevate America. And because it has been so successful, now we are launching this program also here in California.

So today is the official launch where Microsoft is awarding our state 166,500 training vouchers, which will be distributed through EDD, which is a one-stop shop that we have there. And I think this will be a great public-private partnership. This is what I appreciate about all of this, besides the job creation, because nothing is more important than jobs.

And I think in my State of the State Address just two months ago I talked about our job initiative and how important it is to create those jobs. I think that, as we traveled -- Vickie and I, as we traveled up and down the state of California talking about job creation and visiting the various different plants and high technology places, green technology places and so on. We have heard some really unbelievable stories about people losing jobs and how it has turned their lives upside down. And I think that people really deserve the security of a paycheck and they deserve the security of having food on the table and having a roof over their heads and having the peace of mind of their families and so on.

And this is, I think, what this is all about and that's why two months ago I stressed that in my State of the State Address and since then I've been challenging the legislature to also come in and to work with our office. They have their own ideas of how to create jobs, we have our ideas of how to create jobs. Merge those two things together, the Republican ideas, the Democratic ideas, the governor's ideas, the legislators' ideas, merge all of this together and then approve this job package. I think this is so important, because our unemployment rate, the latest numbers were 12.5 percent. And you know, this is a really high number and we have to do something about that immediately.

So I say to the legislature, look, the debates in Sacramento are over, the time for action is now. And I think that we see here, Microsoft just jumped into action and they are creating this public-private partnership, they're handing out those vouchers, they are doing something about it. I think that government should do something about it, I think that the legislators should do something about it. And this is why I urge them again to go and to jump into action and do something. That's what they are elected for, is to be public servants, to serve the people of California and I think one of the things that we need right now is this job creation.

I also want to take this opportunity, of course, to congratulate Microsoft for this great, great launching of another program, which is Elevate America's Veterans. Now, that initiative is one of those brilliant things, because I'm a big believer that we have to do everything we can to create the skills for them so they can get jobs. I think veterans -- this is a program that's not only for veterans but also for the spouses -- very, very important, because I think anyone that is willing to shed blood or risk their lives for this country ought to, when they come back, get a square deal. And I think that we have to do everything that we can. It's our obligation to deal with the troops that way. And we want to make California a great place to come home to, where there are jobs available. So again, I want to say congratulations for this really extraordinary idea to help our troops.

So I'm really excited about this whole partnership here and I wanted to come here personally to just let you know that this is not something that, you know, we see that it's appearing and that Microsoft is doing a great job. We appreciate it, so much so that I wanted to come here myself and to let you know how much we appreciate it and how much we are looking forward to working together with Microsoft to create those jobs as quickly as possible, because this is very important.

And now I know that you want to come out and say a few words. Thank you very much again. Thank you. (Applause)
 
MR. LEWIN:
 
Thank you, Governor. Well, I'm not going to argue with the pronunciation of my name, by any means, with the Governor. (Laughter) I'd like to thank you, Governor Schwarzenegger and Secretary Bradshaw, for your thoughtful leadership and promoting economic growth and new opportunity to the people of this state. And I'd like to thank you each for your partnership in this particular program. It's been a terrific working relationship that we've had with this state for a long time. And I am personally very pleased to be here today to work with the state and to announce Elevate America in California.

As most of you know, Microsoft believes that technology can be an incredible catalyst for economic growth and individual opportunity. But, as the Governor said, technology alone is not the solution. It really needs to be part of a holistic approach that includes both training and local context so that the on-the-ground contextual work is done in the real communities where people need their jobs and where people work and live.

This requires effective public-private partnerships; governments can't do this on their own, that's clearly the case. The private sector can't do it on its own either. What we need is a commitment and the resources and the expertise of government, schools, community organizations, partner organizations that help with certification. We have one of those represented here today.

It's fundamental for this Elevate America program in California to really demonstrate, I think, an example of this public-private partnership. And it's something that, again, we're confident, based upon the experiences to date and the launch today that we'll do well here in our state.

For those of you who don't know, Elevate America is part of Microsoft's broader Unlimited Potential Program to enable jobs and opportunities across the country and around the world. Here in California the objective is to accelerate the workforce readiness of individuals through a selection of the most career-relevant training and certification programs that we offer as a company. Our goal is to reach thousands of people in this state, as the Governor suggested, through these 100,000-plus vouchers. But our goal over the next three years, because this is an ongoing program, is to train over 2 million people around the United States, to help them with these critical technology skills. (Applause) Thank you.

And I really do want to stress that these skills are critical. It's really clear -- even at the higher level of the Bureau of Labor Statistics -- it's clear that 75 percent of the jobs available in this country will require a basic technical literacy. That's up from 50 percent just some number of years ago. And in this very difficult economic time it's really clear that even higher level skills, which we can offer to people as well, beyond these programs, are necessary because that's where the jobs are. This is ever increasing.

This workforce imperative and all the profound change that's going on in the economy on a global basis, it's really, really exciting and I want to just share our enthusiasm as a company to support the Governor, the Secretary and all the other stakeholders in this community who will bring together, through this strategic partnership of public and private sector, bring together an opportunity to accelerate economic recovery in the state of California and to expand opportunities for all of our citizens.

So thank you both very much for coming today and thank you all for coming this morning