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Statement by the President to Members of the New National Advisory Committee on Manpower Development and Training.

September 27, 1962

I CONSIDER the Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962 one of the most important measures ever passed by Congress to help foster our Nation's technological development, strengthen our domestic prosperity, and maintain our position of leadership in the world. This bill attacks one of the basic causes of long-term unemployment, and encourages sound manpower planning based on research. It is a bill which will help eliminate waste of our human resources wherever it may occur throughout the Nation.

You who have agreed to serve on the National Advisory Committee on Manpower Development and Training have the opportunity to contribute a great deal to the success of this extremely important program. I thank you for agreeing to serve and I wish you success in your endeavors.

For too long a time we have paid lip service to our Nation's manpower problems without doing anything significant to solve them. We have "viewed with alarm." We have "urged that something be done." We have "summarized the situation." But, until the Manpower Development and Training Act was passed during this session of the 87th Congress, concrete proposals aimed at solving our manpower problems were hard to come by. Now we have a program for training the unemployed and the under employed. Now we have a broad program of manpower research.

I am pleased to note that 138 training programs in 20 States have already been initiated under the new Act. This is a good beginning, but it is only a beginning. I am certain that if our manpower programs are administered with wisdom and imagination, we will be in a far better position to face the inevitable problems that are generated by a highly complex and constantly evolving technology.

You have the opportunity to see to it that this goal is reached. The Manpower Training and Development Act is not a panacea which will cure all our manpower problems. It is, however, a potent tool which can be used effectively against unemployment and for the promotion of a highly skilled labor force throughout the entire Nation.

You have my best wishes for success in this critically important task.

Note: The President spoke in his office at the White House at 10:30 a.m. The committee of ten, appointed by the Secretary of Labor, includes the following members: Dr. Eli Ginzberg, Columbia University, New York City, who served as Chairman of the Committee; Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr., of Atlanta, Ga.; Joseph A. Beirne and Peter T. Schoemann of the AFL-CIO; William G. Caples, Inland Steel Co., Chicago; Mrs. Louise G. Daugherty, District Superintendent of Schools, Chicago; Upshut Evans, Cleveland (Ohio) Development Foundation; Felix E. Larkin, W. R. Grace and Co., New York City; Dr. M.D. Mobley, American Vocational Association, Washington, D.C.; and Dr. William H. Nicholls, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.

John F. Kennedy, Statement by the President to Members of the New National Advisory Committee on Manpower Development and Training. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/235683

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