DOVER - To help connect Delawareans with employers in the area, the Delaware Congressional delegation, in collaboration with Brandywine Counseling, will host their third of three job fairs this spring on June 24th in Kent County. Business leaders will get to meet with and interview talented Delawareans ready with resumes in-hand. The delegation urges businesses throughout the state to reserve their tables now.
The job fair will be held Monday, June 24th at the Sheraton Hotel in Dover from 10 am to 2 pm.
In addition to networking with companies looking to hire, job-seekers will also be able to participate in job-search skills workshops, receive career counseling, and have their resumes reviewed by experts.
The delegation hosted a job fair in New Castle County on March 6th and one in Sussex County on April 30th.
For more information on how to participate as an employer or job-seeker, please call Senator Coons’ office at 302-573-6345, or email workshop@coons.senate.gov.
Senator Chris Coons, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, participated in a half-day summit on Thursday on issues of importance to rural communities across our nation. The event was hosted by the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee and featured two moderated panels focused on rural economics, infrastructure, and access to critical services.
The panel highlighted the economic conditions facing rural communities and the agriculture industry, and what role the federal government can play in ensuring long-term support for the communities. Issues discussed during the summit include the importance of investing in the health of farmland, natural resources, and infrastructure. Another topic of discussion was connecting our farmers and ranchers with consumers, including individuals, schools, hospitals, and businesses.
“Our rural communities are central to our identity, our economy, and our values,” Chris said. “Between our agriculture sector, environmental conservation, and tourism, it’s no surprise that Delaware’s rural communities are thriving. It’s important that we continue to facilitate an open dialogue between our rural communities and our elected officials to ensure we aren’t hindering their growth and development. I thank the members of the University of Delaware for attending today’s event and sharing their views on how we can strengthen our state’s rural areas.”
More than 200 rural development advocates attended the summit, including Mark Reiger, Dean of the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, University of Delaware; Michelle Rodgers, Cooperative Extension Director, University of Delaware; and Melanie Allen, student, University of Delaware.
The Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee is dedicated to fostering dialogue between Senate Democrats and community leaders from across the nation. The Steering Committee hosts regular meetings each year with advocates, policy experts, and elected officials to discuss key priorities and enlist their help in the development of the Democratic agenda in the Senate.
Senator Chris Coons, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, published an op-ed in the News Journal on Thursday highlighting the opportunity to improve Delaware’s economy by expanding trade with Africa.
When American businesses sell their products in Africa, they grow and create jobs in their offices, headquarters and factories here at home. Nearly 10 million American jobs are supported by exports – including well over 11,000 in Delaware – and every billion dollars of U.S. exports could create as many as 5,000 new jobs. So it is in our economic interest to dramatically scale up our economic engagement with Africa. If we don’t, our international competitors will – and in some cases, they already have. At a meeting about U.S. export opportunities, an African head of state told me that while they “would prefer to work with the United States, the Chinese are already here.”
We cannot allow our competitors in the global economy to lock American companies out of fast-growing African markets, which have as many as 900 million potential consumers. Large and small businesses in Delaware, from DuPont-Pioneer to Baltimore Air Coil, based in Milford, are already selling their goods and services to African customers, but we have to do more to provide the tools and resources they need to succeed.
Senator Coons issued the following statement on Tuesday to recognize Equal Pay Day — the day that marks how far into the calendar year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year. Equal Pay Day was created in 1996 by the National Committee on Pay Equity as a public awareness event to illustrate the gap between men's and women's wages.
“This year marks the 50th anniversary of the enactment of the Equal Pay Act of 1963. While much progress has been made for women in the workforce, it’s astonishing and saddening that a significant pay gap between the sexes remains. Women in Delaware are still only paid 80 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to a yearly gap of $9,911 between men and women who work full time in the state.
“We must continue to fight to for basic fairness in our workforce and across our society. This is why I’m a proud cosponsor of Senator Barbara Mikulski’s Paycheck Fairness Act, which would strengthen the Equal Pay Act by taking meaningful steps to create incentives for employers to follow the law, help women to negotiate for equal pay, and strengthen federal outreach and enforcement effort.
“Equal pay for equal work goes beyond fairness, it’s beneficial to our economy, our families, and our children. Today, I re-pledge myself to fighting to end pay discrimination for Delawareans and all Americans. ”
Senator Coons welcomed an announcement last week from U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) Victoria Espinel on the Obama Administration’s new strategy to mitigate the theft of U.S. trade secrets.
Trade secrets are advancements that enable a business to improve a product or make it more quickly or more efficiently. For example, the weaving technology that allows Delaware’s own DuPont to turn strands of fiber into Kevlar body armor is a trade secret.
IPEC's development of this strategy reflects the diversity of American interests impacted by trade secret theft and involved the collaboration of the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, State, Treasury, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chris has been working to protect American intellectual property and prevent the theft of trade secrets, which cost U.S. companies billions of dollars each year and threaten their ability to innovate and compete globally.
The Administration’s strategy recognizes that trade secrets play a crucial role in the U.S. economy and takes steps to guard against threats to American innovation and competitiveness, whether they come from foreign companies or foreign governments. The strategy calls for enhanced domestic law enforcement operations, industry-led efforts to develop best practices to protect trade secrets and a review of our existing intellectual property laws to determine whether Congress should make any changes to enhance enforcement.
Chris co-sponsored legislation President Obama signed into law, the Foreign and Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act, to bolster criminal penalties for economic espionage. He also plans to introduce legislation to create a federal civil private right of action for trade secret theft to provide businesses with a uniform, reliable, and predictable way to protect their valuable trade secrets anywhere in the country.
NEWARK - Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and U.S. Representative John Carney announced on Wednesday that 55 employers from around the region have already signed up for their New Castle County job fair next Wednesday, March 6. Combined, the employers are hiring for about 600 open positions across an array of skill sets.
The New Castle County job fair is being organized with Brandywine Counseling and will be held at the Embassy Suites in Newark from 10 am to 2 pm.
Some employers already registered for next week’s fair include:
Private Companies: Advanced Student Transportation, Telamon Corporation (Head Start), Bayada Home Care, Griswold Special Care, Home Instead Senior Care, Interim Healthcare, AFLAC, AVON, Dr. Energy Saver (Delmarva Energy), Metro Merchant Services, Prominent Insurance, Viridian Energy, APM Inc., Prince Telecom, Playtex, Markatos Services Inc., AAA Club Partners, Discover Financial Services, Goodwill of Delaware, Metro Merchant Services, SafeLink Wireless, American Registry of Pathology, Beasley Broadcast Group, Massage and Reflexology of Delaware, New Behavioral Network, Tech Impact, WSFS Bank, Bank of America, Citi, Diamond State Financial Group, New York Life, Sallie Mae, Waddell and Reed Inc.
Government Agencies: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, Delaware National Guard, State of Delaware, Delaware Department of Transportation, State of Delaware Office of Volunteerism, New Castle County Government, Dover Police Department, New Castle County Police
Additionally, the following organizations will have tables at the fair on their offerings for job seekers:
University of Delaware Transition to Teaching Partnership, Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification, Delaware Department of Labor/Vocational Rehabilitation Division, Delaware Department of Labor, Clarifi, Right Management.
In addition to networking with employers looking to hire, job seekers will also be able to participate in job-search skills workshops, career counseling, and have their resumes reviewed by experts.
Senator Carper, Senator Coons, and Congressman Carney will host additional job fairs in Sussex County in April and in Kent County in June.
For more information on how to participate as a job seeker, please call 302-573-6345 or email workshop@coons.senate.gov.
In this series of blog posts, Senator Coons’ legislative staff shares their analysis of the President’s State of the Union address with Delawareans.
In his State of the Union address, President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to opening up fast-growing new markets around the world to American goods and services, creating new trade opportunities that will help American businesses grow and create jobs.
President Obama proposed that we “complete negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” which would “boost American exports, support American jobs, and level the playing field in the growing markets of Asia.” He also announced that the he will “launch talks on a comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union, because trade that is fair and free across the Atlantic supports millions of good-paying American jobs.”
Senator Coons has been working hard to help open new global markets where Delaware companies can sell their goods and services. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa, he is working to ensure that these fast-growing new markets with burgeoning middle classes are open to American products to help strengthen our economy here at home.
Gaining access to markets all over the world has been instrumental in helping the American economy grow and prosper over the last century. To continue our economic recovery, Chris believes it is crucial that we continue to create better access to international markets and help American business and workers by removing barriers to our goods and products.
In particular, markets in both Asia and the European Union present important opportunities for Delaware's poultry companies to expand their exports. This trade will allow us to make progress in breaking down barriers to Delaware's poultry exports.
In this series of blog posts, Senator Coons’ legislative staff shares their analysis of the President’s State of the Union address with Delawareans.
In last night’s State of the Union address, President Obama said that while “our economy is adding jobs…too many people still can’t find full-time employment.”
Senator Coons agrees, which is why he has been working closely with Delaware businesses to find innovative ways to help them grow and create jobs, even in a tough economy. Along with the other members of the Delaware Congressional delegation, he hosted nine job fairs in two years, connecting employers ready to hire with 10,000 Delaware job seekers
Chris believes more must be done to support and sustain American innovators—especially in the manufacturing sector. If we want to stay competitive in a global economy, we have to invest in job training programs and policies that create cutting-edge, high-quality jobs.
In his address, President Obama noted that our manufacturing sector has added about 500,000 jobs over the past three years and announced three new “manufacturing hubs,” while challenging Congress to create a network of fifteen of these hubs to “guarantee that the next revolution in manufacturing is Made in America.”
Chris has worked hard on incentivizing the growth of America’s advanced manufacturing sector and has urged Congress to pursue policies support the growth of high-tech and clean energy manufacturing in America.
He has met with Delaware manufacturers and turned their ideas into legislative action, building bipartisan support for new tax credits to support local manufacturers and ensure quality products are “Made in America, Manufactured in Delaware.”
For example, Chris introduced the Startup Innovation Credit, a bipartisan bill that would allow innovative startup companies to take advantage of the successful Research and Development Tax Credit. He is also an original cosponsor of the Bring Jobs Home Act, which offers tax credits from companies that relocate their manufacturing operations from abroad back to the United States.
Last week, Senator Coons took part in a launch celebration unveiling the new Horn Program in Entrepreneurship at UD.
Made possible by a generous gift from Charles and Patricia Horn, this program will encourage students to pursue the kind of entrepreneurial ideas that will power Delaware’s economy for years to come.
The Horn program will enhance and expand entrepreneurial studies at UD and be made up of a variety of initiatives like the Venture Development Center, a student business incubator, Hen Hatch, UD’s premier startup funding competition and an annual President’s Forum on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. It will also support new curricular offerings at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Chris believes that supporting our innovators and entrepreneurs is critical to our economic recovery.
To read more about his work to create jobs and promote American economic competitiveness, click here.
On Monday, Senator Coons spoke with members of the Junior Achievement Titan Challenge. JA’s Titan Challenge is a global online simulation program involving 24 high school students and recent graduates who compete in a virtual economy. The teams of students, coming from China, Russia, Poland, Canada, and the U.S., act as chief executive officers of a virtual manufacturing company as they make business and ethical decisions in an attempt to outperform their competitors.
“JA’s Titan Challenge is about empowering students, allowing them to learn outside the classroom and helping them experience the business world while preparing for their future,” Chris said. “This is a great opportunity for like-minded students and community volunteers from all over the world to compete and learn from one another.”
Junior Achievement is a nonprofit organization and the world’s largest organization that has impacted over 4 million U.S. students with the help of over 178,000 volunteers. JA of Delaware recently received two prestigious awards at the JA National Leadership Conference.
