for generations. i am excited about this partnership, excited about tech sf, but i mostly excited about our kids. you will see your future working here in san francisco. [applause] >> thank you very much, mr. mayor. i have never before been included in a sentence with nancy pelosi. i desperately with my mom was here today. [laughter] we fully recognize this day was not possible without the leadership we have in washington, d.c. it is my honor and privilege to invite dan from leader pelosi's office. >> thank you. leader policy could not be here because of congressional business but she was so proud to support the proposal because it has everything we need to

succeed. we have a mayor committed to making san francisco the cradle of innovation and entrepreneurship. we have the talent and creativity of the people of san francisco and the strength and leadership of all of our partner organizations. she was excited to learn that this grant would be awarded and mushy could not be here today, ask me to share some words. dear friends, today we celebrate a victory for the economic security of our workers, the growth of our city, prosperity of local families, and creation of local american jobs. attorneys gramm and investing in tech as several transcendence systems for the jobs of tomorrow, as per our rt industry, strength and great careers and education about ways for the work force, and meet the needs of entrepreneurs and businesses large and small. perhaps most important, we will reduce our dependence on the visa program and the need to bring more foreign workers to our communities because the i.t.

sector should be staffed and driven by san francisco's workers because american employer should not have to look abroad for employees but finding in our own backyards. with this grant we can put more people to work in high-growth, high-tech occupations and ensure unemployed seven systems have the skills and background necessary to secure and keep good paying jobs. today's success is a product of a strong public-private partnership between the city and west ed to make investments in small and local businesses so that the community can thrive. this effort is with san francisco always knew the way. i want to thank the city leaders for leading the way. sincerely, nancy pelosi, democratic leader. [applause] thank you.

>> we would not be here without wested. they do phenomenal work putting together procedures and thinking critically, which is appreciated. since 1997, glenn hartley has served as the ceo. the nonprofit agency dedicated to learning for learning for children, youth, and adults. agency staffing has doubled and revenues have grown more than four fold. you may not know this. i heard you talk about the commitment, the belief that all kids to should succeed in our schools and all adults in the community should arrive, despite the circumstances they were born into. all the people involved here today believe that with you. please join me in welcoming the line harvey, ceo of wested. >> good morning. thank you all for coming. i really appreciate it.

thank you, mr. mayor, we are so excited about this. i am the ceo of wested. we have been headquartered in san francisco since the mid 1960's, so we have a long commitment to the city and we are focused on improved learning for children youth, and adults across whole country. we are proud that wested could bring together with a strong support of the mayor's office, bringing together this partnership. this grant is so important to the city and to our collective commitment to all of you, to keep you here. none of our organizations could have secured this grant by results. one of the things that is most impressive about this effort is it was a collaboration of all these groups that came together,

and now more than 1800 people in our city, many of whom have been unemployed for way too long in this economy, now have new opportunities for career training and internships to be launched, new successful careers. we are really proud to be part of that. we, wested, will be the managing partner project manager of this initiative. most of the people you see here will be the on the ground trainers, working with all of you. i want to take a minute to introduce people. i am not sure i know where everyone is. rhonda simmons is here, the director of work-force development for the office of economic and workforce development. phyllis mcguire, vice chancellor for city college. carol burnie is the executive director for -- we have not met.

i am sure i'm not supposed to say that. nice to meet you. billy wong, the executive director here. of course, jay, who you know. and these are not all the partners but the major partners who have committed here, along with ibm, at&t, and others, to be involved in this. i would simply say thank you to everyone who helped to make this a reality. this was truly a collaborative collective efforts. now we have to get down to -- you're talking about the real effort -- after the celebration, we have to really deliver. you should hold us accountable. we are eager to get started and to get you into the workforce. we will be here after words if you have questions. thank you all for coming. [applause]

>> i am sensing a theme of partnership today. partnership extends to the mayor's office and to washington, d.c. and across to hall at city hall. it is my honor to welcome supervisors mark farrell and christine al-awlaki. [applause] -- olague. >> this is a major grant to make sure that people in the middle of their careers in all neighborhoods get the skills and training need to get all of the high tech jobs center coming here. i called for a hearing recently with the city and school district because i am interested in learning about how public school education prepares students to access these jobs in the growing technology industry in san francisco. it is a very important cornerstone of our economic development efforts. first, we have to attract and create the jobs, and then we have to make sure they go to san

franciscans, and that is but this grand and the tech assets initiative will help us to do. i think it was harvey milk that said we have to give them hope. -- s.f. initiative will help us to do. i also want to thank the participants in the program. it takes a lot of initiative and discipline to say, i wanted take on these new skills, i want to transform my life. in transforming myself and achieving these skills with the discipline and commitment you have, then you are also transforming your communities and society as a whole. i especially want thank you for your commitment to this program, and to acquiring the skills to really change our lives and contribute back to our society

in san francisco in a positive way. i want to thank you for participating in this program. [applause] >> a in thank you, christina. first of all, i want to thank jay for having us here today. i am sure all of you are familiar, but this is one of the most amazing organizations we have in san francisco. i have had the opportunity to speak here a number of times to the children and am impressed more and more by the caliber of people that are here. thank you for all you do and to tiffany and dan for fostering that vision and the amazing organization you run. thank you so much for everything that you do. today, this grant marks a real cornerstone in our economic development in the city. of course, we need to first create the jobs and attract a company that will build the jobs

into the future but we also need to train our work force here in san francisco to make sure they are the ones willing those roles. san francisco, through the leadership of mayor lee, a lot of us on the board of supervisors, is building on our successes and becoming that innovation capital of the world that we have had the promise of building. we have so many natural attributes in san francisco. it is our geography, arts and culture, vibrant neighborhoods, everything a city should be. i think now you are seeing an economic development climate where we are probably trying to attract new jobs and industries to our city. whether it is the payroll tax initiative that kept twitter here in the mid market, stock options, other policies, we are changing the culture of city hall and, in turn, san francisco. what we're doing now is we are seeing the jobs come back. as the rest of the country grips

with recovered from our huge recession, san francisco is leading the way. our unemployment rate has dropped two points in the last year. we have an unemployment rate under 8% right now. not many cities can boast that. in the last year, it has dropped since mayor lee and we at the border supervisors came into office. for me, this continues we are doing at city hall, our mission. and a real point to the students here. please know that city hall and your local government is here because we want to create a better future and we are working for you. we will not rest until we deliver on that promise. congratulations to everyone. we look forward to seeing this make a difference four years to come in our city. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, supervisors, for being here. as i mentioned earlier, when our

students finish, they move onto internships with 22 companies, including mozilla, j.p. morgan chase, and micromenders, among others. the first of them to join us was salesforce.com. they are the enterprise, computing company that is leading the ship to social enterprise. one of the largest and best employers in the city. it is my honor to welcome one of our best friends from salesforce.com. [applause] >> thank you. we are delighted to be here and be a part of this exciting and groundbreaking announcement. i have to say, it is an honor to serve -- share the stage with mayor lee and our corporate partners.

thank you for inviting us to be here. salesforce.com is dedicated to recruiting and hiring the best possible talent across the city of san francisco. we are proud to be a founding corporate partner of your day area hosting four intern's. now over three years later i am excited to say, we have posted 47 intern's across seven classes. some are here today. [applause] just as salesforce.com transformed the enterprise software market with cloud computing, you are transforming the talent and what it looks like. i am sure i speak for all the partners when i say that the intern's bring value to our organization with their willingness to learn and their enthusiasm. it is because of this that we welcome them into our site as internes and in many cases, and

by 10 to stay as full-time employees. it is a pleasure when that happens. salesforce.com will continue to support the efforts and as we continue to grow, we are excited to see it a partnership between the city of san francisco and europe bay area as they strive to support more young people as they enter into the fast pace and exciting will the technology. thank you again for having us here today. [applause] for having us here again today. [applause] >> now for the part you really want to hear from, some of the students and graduates of the programs that we served here. since 2008, europe bay area graduated more than 200 students locally and thousands nationally. 87% are employed within four months of graduation, rt on average $15.69 an hour, or enrolling in college full time. it is my pleasure to introduce

one of our graduates will give you a good sense of the talent that exists in our communities and what happens when that talent is matched with real opportunities. please add join me in welcoming that student. [applause] >> thank you. and thank you, mayor lee, for inviting me to speak. i am a graduate. i had a tough childhood. my parents divorced before i was born. my father passed away when i was two. when i graduated from high school, i graduated -- was on my own. the only thing i could find was in retail. for several years, i bounced from job to job, just getting by. in 2009, i was laid off. after months of searching, i cannot find a job. i found myself alone on a cold autumn inight in union square.

i was homeless. i thought to myself, i do not want this to be my story. i wanted more out of life. after sleeping on the streets for two nights, i was likely -- lucky to connect with the vietnamese center, who suggested i apply for europe. europe changed my life's in the valley. i learn skills that helped me become a professional and gained knowledge that set me up for success. europe believed in me and taught me the importance of taking chances. i completed the first five months of intensive learning and earned an internship. i learned html and deploy e- mails to millions of people. after six months, responses offered me a job. i humbly accepted it. i went from sleeping on the streets and homeless shelters and no sleeping in my own bed in my own apartment. from the jobless to working full time at one of the top companies

in america. europe open my eyes to my full potential. now i have goals. education is no longer -- no longer something at the end of my to do list. it is now a priority. i do not care myself -- carry myself with a shame but with determination. europe is more than an organization that teaches young adults about technology, business, and how to become a professional. this is an organization that changes lives and contributes to making the world a better place. europe was my second chance to live. thank you. [applause] >> so i think this is fair to say, you have opened our eyes to a lot of things. you have been an inspiration and a leader to so many people. i would like to welcome up carol, who will introduce our next speaker.

[applause] >> thank you. thank you, mayor lee. thank you to everyone that the office of economic and workforce development who made this grant possible. we are extremely excited to be part of this incredible collaboration, especially because it brings us together with partners who we already have, like mozilla and city college but will also bring us closer to some partners who we are looking for two meeting. also at salesforce, which is our data base. so thank you, salesforce. [laughter] it is my pleasure to introduce one of our adult students. she let me know that she actually just finished one of our city -- certificate programs last friday, and she has a lot to say about what has been provided for her. i cannot be happier about all we have been able to do for her. thank you. [applause] >> thank you for having me here

and inviting me to join you at this press conference. i moved to san francisco about two years ago, and i did not know a lot of people. i knew i wanted to be a video editor. i applied and applied and cannot get the job. i knew i was missing a little extra skill set. i needed that extra something. i had the drive, but i needed the no-out. i found a job that helped me make ends meet, but it was not the job i want it. i read about the classes and they offered the actual teaching, the actual know-how, how to work this program so i can go into an interview and said confidently, yes, i can do that. and truthfully, yes, i can do that. that is something i was not seeing from the their programs. bayvac really promised that. it was a certification and video post-production. not only did it provide the

glasses, it provided gay community. when i moved here, like i said, i did not know a lot of people. that can be problematic if you're trying to find a job. meeting my teachers, seeing their creators, how they made it work gave me that extra inspiration, that extra drive that i started with when i moved here. i tick class is on the weekends. eight hours a day. my friends would say, how can you go from working all week to have a class on the weekends for eight hours both days? i did not really know, but i knew it was because it was the light at the end of my tunnel. i mean, it was a motivating to leave their on sunday night after two days of glasses knowing the program and knowingly i am going to get to that job eventually. and i did. i found my dream job this september dreamcbs -- at cbs

interactive. i got there because of bavc. you all have that drive. i was talking to some of the students before i came in here, and you're so excited to you have the passion. that is half the battle. you have the skill set. and you'll find your dream jobs, too, just like me. thank you. [applause] >> if you are familiar with europe, euna lee tried to stay very much on schedule. so i have the honor of closing today. -- we try to stay very much on schedule. i am had the honor closing today. we have an amazing challenge in our communities but an amazing opportunity in front of us. the only way to address such a large challenge and opportunity is the partnership you see here today, bringing together private enterprise with government and educational partners, our philanthropic investors like to pinpoint and jpmorgan chase.

that is the way you have made is in the consent in this country, by bringing those forces to bear on the ills that we see in our country. it was our honor to host. i think we have time for one or two questions. >> well, here are the answers. [laughter] >> seeing that, we are adjourned. -- seeing none, we are adjourned. [laughter] [applause]