Vienna, VA – January 19, 2010—MicroTech President & CEO Tony Jimenez joined with other business, labor, academic and nonprofit leaders to consult with the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB), at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington DC, on January 15th. The meeting was an extension of President Barack Obama’s December Jobs Summit and promoted a deeper exploration of the issues raised at the summit, with an emphasis on how to maximize the impact of Federal government investments in workforce development.

Tony Jimenez reaffirmed MicroTech’s commitment to workforce development and job training programs, and underscored the need for PERAB to consider Veteran and Minority issues as the group searches for answers to the nation’s employment issues.  He also emphasized the importance of small businesses and entrepreneurship as drivers of job creation.

“I am honored to have been a part of such an important discussion,” said Jimenez. “Helping the Obama Administration strengthen the partnership between the Administration and the employer community is an important step, and through our efforts I hope to encourage the development of a flexible and innovative education system to upgrade worker’s education levels.”

President Obama created PERAB to provide advice on programs designed to jump-start economic growth and facilitate economic stability, modeling it after the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board created by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. It’s meant to pierce what President Obama called the “insularity” of the Washington decision-making process. In announcing the new board, the President commented that, “The walls of the echo chamber can sometimes keep out fresh voices and new ways of thinking — and those who serve in Washington don’t always have a ground-level sense of which programs and policies are working.” The PERAB and its subcommittees will provide that ground-level sense. The President wants to get advice from outside regular Washington circles, with this mission reflected in the board's diverse membership.

This is a critical time for the discussion, as both the American Graduation Initiative and Workforce Investment Act are upcoming legislative opportunities to improve federal policies and programs relating to higher education and job training.

“I am also advocating for the government to examine some simple tax incentives to encourage employers to partner with local colleges and universities to create low cost programs that produce a high quality workforce,” Jimenez said. “I believe programs that give academic credit for on-the-job learning are essential.” 

 

MicroTechnologies LLC, (d.b.a. MicroTech) is a certified and verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and a certified 8(a) Small Business, and delivers robust process-driven performance for mission success. MicroTech applies its regimented process, enterprise IT experience, and state-of-the-art engineering solutions to integrate different technologies and create proven results that respond to clients' strategic needs. MicroTech is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Symantec Managed Services Partner, Tandberg Platinum Partner, Autonomy Added Value Reseller, VMware Professional Partner, EMC Velocity Partner, Citrix Silver Solution Advisor, Adobe Solutions Partner, Polycom Premier Partner, Dell Registered Partner, and IBM Business Partner. MicroTech is Hispanic Business Magazine’s 2009 No. 1 Fastest-Growing Hispanic-Owned Business; Washington Technology Magazine’s 2009 No. 1 Information Technology 8(a) Business in the Nation, CRN Magazine’s 2009 No. 1 Fastest-Growing “Unified Communications Solutions Specialist” in the Nation, and on the Deloitte 2009 Tech Fast 500, the No. 1 Communications / Networking Small Business in the Baltimore – Washington DC metro area. ISO 9001:2008, CMMI Maturity Level 2 rated, and ITIL management qualified, MicroTech is headquartered just outside the Nation's Capital in Vienna, Virginia, with key offices in Richmond, Virginia; Greensboro, North Carolina; Huntsville, Alabama; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.