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Chrysler Corporation Sponsors Education Summit

8 May 1998

Chrysler Corporation Sponsors Education Summit

    AUBURN HILLS, Mich., May 8 -- The path to career success no
longer requires a four-year degree.  By the year 2000, the demand for workers
with technical training (electrician, plumber, automotive technician) will
increase and Chrysler Corporation wants to do its part to prepare a
workforce of qualified candidates with technical or trade school backgrounds.
    Chrysler will address the need for future technical workers by hosting an
Education Summit on Friday, May 8, 1998, at Chrysler's World Headquarters in
Auburn Hills, Mich., with Kathy Oswald, Vice President-Human Resources, as the
keynote speaker.
    Through the summit, Chrysler hopes to encourage the 110 Southeastern
Michigan high school counselors in attendance to consider steering more
students toward skilled-trade careers rather than suggesting just the
traditional path to a four-year degree.  According to national statistics,
75 percent of people who start college don't finish.
    "We want to encourage counselors to ask students, 'Have you even
considered a skilled trades career?'" said Oswald.  "We are conditioned as a
society to push a four-year college program, but that's not a guaranteed route
to career success for everyone.  With a skilled-trades background, students
can look forward to many of the same things as a student with a four-year
degree: stability, competitive salaries, benefits and growth."
    During the summit, guidance counselors will attend workshops run by
representatives from the Michigan Occupational Information System, Michigan
Jobs Commission and Chrysler Human Resources.
    Valerie Becker, Chrysler National Education Programs Administrator, said
the Education Summit will be the first step toward strengthening the link
between academic achievement and work-force success by offering workplace
examples of the application of both basic academic knowledge and technical
skills.
    "Chrysler needs technical workers as much as we need those with
backgrounds in human resources, finance and engineering.  It's important that
students know you can have a successful career in the automotive industry
without attending a four-year college," said Oswald.

SOURCE  Chrysler Corporation