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State Representative Tim Mahoney
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4277
For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406
Column/LTE
CHANGING TO MEET THE CHALLENGE OF A NEW ECONOMY
More than 124,000 Minnesota jobs have been lost since this time last year. The state’s economic experts predict some of those jobs may never come back. Instead, many Minnesotans will return to work in the months and years ahead to new jobs in new sectors of the economy. That’s why it is critical that Minnesota industry, entrepreneurs, and state government work together to get those jobs in place as quickly as possible - and aggressively train Minnesota’s workforce to do those jobs well.
The increasingly competitive global economy has all but required the United States to raise the bar. America - and Minnesota in particular - can be a force to reckon with in the new economy. But only if we have the courage, foresight, and ingenuity to transform our industrial base, invest more effectively in higher education, and renew our commitment to profitable innovation.
Now, more than ever, Minnesota needs to move aggressively toward an economic model driven by technology and creativity. The only way to accomplish that is by digging deep into our greatest natural resource - the untold wealth of Minnesota’s highly skilled workforce and intellectual capital. As it has been before in times of severe economic crisis, it will be the depth of our knowledge, the spirit and skill of Minnesota workers, and a commitment to creativity that will again reinvent our economy.
According to the State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI), transforming a successful technology based economy in a state like Minnesota will require the following:
• Outstanding universities and private research laboratories that generate new knowledge and products
• Mechanisms for transferring knowledge from one individual to another - or from one company to another
• High quality telecommunication systems and affordable high speed Internet connections
• A highly-skilled technical workforce
• Better access to capital for entrepreneurs and businesses
• A high quality of life
• Helping entrepreneurs share ideas and resources through innovation networks
In addition to creating new jobs through aggressive entrepreneurship, we need to make concerted efforts to train current employees how to do the work of tomorrow. Through workforce development, and customized training techniques, we can turn old skills into new assets. By giving experienced workers the opportunity to learn new equipment or specific skill sets, we can meet the demands of a changing economy while maintaining existing jobs in Minnesota communities.
All the while we need to maintain Minnesota’s commitment to top-notch post-secondary education opportunities. We must support our colleges and universities that specialize in high-tech research and development of new ideas and products for Minnesota industry. And more than ever, we need to invest wisely in the technical and community colleges that give workers - young and old alike - the skills necessary to succeed in a high tech workforce.
The need for action is clear and it is imminent. As President Franklin Roosevelt said at the height of the Great Depression, “Our greatest primary task is to put people to work." But in these critical days, as an old economy gives way to a new, more competitive global economy, it isn’t enough to put Minnesotans to work in jobs that are sure to leave us. We can’t let the world pass us by. Instead, Minnesota’s economic future rests on creativity, courage, and an enduring commitment to aggressive innovation.
State government can’t do that work alone. Business can’t do that work alone. Nor can our universities, colleges, and entrepreneurs. But working together, we can engage in constructive collaboration capable of giving birth to a new economy, and a new era of prosperity in Minnesota - one that returns jobs to hard-working families, and restores our state’s nation leading quality of life.
The months ahead will be hard. But I am confident that the determination and ingenuity of Minnesotans will meet the challenge of a new economy with the best we have to offer. If history is any judge of our ability as a state, I have the highest hopes for Minnesota’s future.
News Items
- DFL Legislators Introduce the “Contraceptive Equity Act” - (Posted: 2012-03-07 00:00:00)
- DFL Jobs Initiatives to be Heard in House Jobs and Economic Development Committee - (Posted: 2012-02-29 00:00:00)
- REP. MAHONEY, DFL LEGISLATORS BUILD ON DFL JOBS PLAN WITH NEW INITIATIVES - (Posted: 2012-02-01 00:00:00)
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