MonticelloLive

In my first State of the State Address, I said that the best schools and educational opportunities in the world are useless without jobs that pay well at home. Otherwise, we are preparing our best and brightest students for jobs in Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, or other cities. With the announcement of a new technology industry facility in Central Arkansas, we are again bringing the jobs of tomorrow here to Arkansas.

Even as one industry-leading Arkansas businesses is in a transition phase, new industry leaders are making their way to Arkansas.

The announcement of a new Hewlett-Packard facility in Conway is a huge economic boon for Central Arkansas and for the State. This could not have happened without our ever-diligent economic-development team, with Maria Haley at the helm. She has put together a group of experts who rival any in the country.

We can’t celebrate this achievement for too long. Let’s take this moment to applaud the new jobs and opportunities for Central Arkansas. But know that we are not stopping here. We will continue to work to ensure that our students will receive the education they need to create a workforce that will continue to attract more high-paying jobs.

Our educational system was developed at a time when a high-school diploma and a strong work ethic were enough to secure prosperity. But today, when even entry-level manufacturing jobs require advanced math and computer skills, 12 years of school and a strong back no longer guarantee success.

This is why we must continue to focus on life-long learning - from pre-kindergarten programs that give our youngest children the advantage of starting school ready to learn, to job training and re-training designed to deliver new skills to our existing workforce. Increasing our college-graduate rates may be the single, most important step we can take to guarantee a more prosperous future for Arkansas, and we’re doing more today to meet that critical need than ever before.

In a global economy, Arkansas must compete not only with Texas, Louisiana, and Missouri for the best jobs; we must also compete with China and India. And if we’re going to compete, we need a workforce prepared to make the most of the high-tech jobs of the global economy. The new economy relies on knowledge-based industries, rather than the place-based assets of the old economy.

I say to our students, “It is part of my assignment to bring good jobs to Arkansas; it’s your assignment to finish your degree, so that you can find a job and a career that will bring you success and allow you to earn what you deserve.” My wish is that every student follows his or her own dreams, wherever they may lead. But my hope is that many choose to remain here to lend their intelligence, talent, and hard work to the continuing goal of building a better Arkansas.

By the time I leave office, I want to be able to look back and say that I helped move our State toward a brighter future and left her in the capable hands of well-educated future generations, proud to be Arkansans. The Hewlett-Packard announcement is a step toward a better and brighter tomorrow for our people.