The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“JOB CORPS EXPERIENCE PAYS OFF FOR OUR YOUNG PEOPLE” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1294 on July 21, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
JOB CORPS EXPERIENCE PAYS OFF FOR OUR YOUNG PEOPLE
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HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI
of pennsylvania
in the house of representatives
Thursday, July 20, 2000
Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the good work that is being done by the Job Corps program that is run by the Department of Labor. The Job Corps serves low-income young women and men, ages 16 through 24, who are in need of additional educational, vocational and social skills training, and other support services in order to gain meaningful employment, return to school or enter the Armed Forces.
I am proud that my district is home to the Keystone Job Corps Center of Drums, Pennsylvania. At a Job Corps advisory meeting in Pennsylvania earlier this year, a member of the Transportation Communications International Union, or TCU, which represents many Job Corps employees, presented me with an e-mail written by Dawn Day, a young woman from rural Maine. Ms. Day recently graduated from the Potomac Job Corps Center, and I think she provides an excellent example of the good results that this program produces. I would like to enter a portion of that e-mail into the Record.
Between my salary and my moving I should make over $50,000 this year. This is a way more money than I have ever dreamed of making.
My first knowledge of TCU was at a conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, where I met with students from other schools. From there I contacted the TCU to set up an interview. The interviewer, Tom Huster, told me about a student in Florida who was making $14.22 an hour and my jaw hit the ground. I told a friend ``I'm going to have a job like that when I leave here,'' Little did I realize that one year later, I would have a job exactly like that in Jacksonville, Florida. Now, one more year later, I have a job paying about $45,000 to $50,000 per year in New York. I never could have imagined that TCU would open such great doors for me.
Before PJCC and TCU, I was working in a fish factory in a tiny town in Maine making $5.33/hour. When the opportunity was upon me to go to TCU in St. Louis, I though of a zillion reasons why I shouldn't go. The small-town girl in a big city, you know, the usual excuses associated with change. But there was one thing that made me realize I had to go, I never wanted to look back and say ``What if'' and know I didn't even try. I knew I could always come home but I may not always have an opportunity to do anything like this ever again. So, I was soon on a plane and on my way to TCU.
The best advice to a student interested in TCU would have to be stay focused. There will be many mountains in which you will have to climb in order to reach your goals. But I guarantee that after each mountain there will be a sunny day waiting for you on the other sides.
Mr. Speaker, I think Ms. Day's experience is a tremendous example of why we need to encourage other young people to participate in this program and other training programs through Job Corps.
I send my best wishes to the students, graduates and employees of the Job Corps and my wishes for continued success.
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