Governor's panel to identify needs of work force in Utah

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. isn't the first governor to describe Utah's labor pool as "world-class," and he's taking action to ensure he's not the last.

Huntsman on Wednesday said he was forming a committee that will look at how to i)mprove Utah's work force to compete better in the global economy.

Utah has been described as having a "world-class work force," he said.

"By yesterday's definition, that might be true," he said. "And I think by today's definition that might still be true. But this is to ensure that tomorrow's definition is also true."

Huntsman said during a news conference that the 17-member Globally Competitive Workforce Steering Committee — consisting of leaders in government, business, education and labor — will report in early autumn about "future work-force needs" and how to address them.

"I don't have the answers in terms of what that might look like. Nobody does," he said. "We simply have a process that's going to allow us to address some of the issues that relate to a truly competitive work force and to come up with some of the right fixes as we go forward. I'm here to tell you that, guaranteed, we've already got a lot of good ones in place. We just want to simply build upon what we've already started."

Much of the discussion Wednesday focused on improvements in education that would give graduating Utah high school and college students the skills needed to help the U.S. compete economically with other countries. Huntsman wants Utahns to become "lifelong learners" who are able to be "innovative and creative."

Huntsman promoted strategies that would "put teaching back on a pedestal," increase the number of Utahns getting a college education, and compare Utah's situation with those of other states and other countries.

"It all starts, everything we're going to do, with the teacher in the classroom," the governor said.

William Brock, a former senator and congressman from Tennessee and a U.S. trade representative and labor secretary in the Reagan administration, is working with several states looking for work force improvements.

"We are not doing enough to give our kids or our workers an opportunity to be productive and competitive in a global work force," Brock said.

Among Utah industries needing skilled workers are energy and personal medicine and biotechnology, Huntsman said.

"With the world moving as quickly as it is and transforming the competitive landscape as rapidly as is the case today, it is imperative that we get the right work-force preparation," he said.

Globally Competitive Workforce Steering Committee

Lane Beattie, president and chief executive officer of the Salt Lake Chamber

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